


The Strange Happenings

by Death



Series: The Stars [2]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross Over, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Guns, Hurt/Comfort, I briefly talk about other things so I'll tag them just in case, Indie Music, Multi, Possible!Major Character Death, Rape/Non-con Elements, Reader-Interactive, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, and lastly... mentions of, such as
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-04-26 13:44:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5006938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Death/pseuds/Death
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The loving bonds of Josh and Chris are put to the test, and Max realizes that Nathan may be the key to saving Chloe's life. Everything hangs in the balance. Rachel, Hannah, Beth. Their locations unknown, and the ending? A mystery, for only you can decide who lives past the dawn of October 11th... </p><p>When Chris and Max realize that they can rewind time, they soon find that a universal thread now links them together in ways they didn't think possible. Arcadia Bay is home to many secrets and lies, some more deadly than others, yet at their center a single truth can be found, and as the gift that has awoken within them both begins to change the course of history, they must fight together or watch their lives unravel in solitude as they try to solve the mysteries of Arcadia Bay. If they fail, they aren’t the only ones that must live with the deadly consequences... </p><p>(Get ready for shipping feels out the wazoo nerds! And certain events in the 1st part of this series are referenced, so if you're Chris/Josh trash then get reading!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Just a note before you start. If the tags scared you, don't worry! If you've played through the Life Is Strange game then you should be fine, I don't stray too far from the way they depict uncomfortable situations/topics or illegal activities. I also want to say that there will be a few moments where you will have to make a decision that will affect the story for you (mainly around shipping things) so get ready! Thank you SO much for checking this fic out! Enjoy!!

**Hours Till Dawn: 0.1**

A fallen branch soared through the air, slashing across her cheek, and she woke with a start.

 _Whoa!_ Her voice sounded far off, like it were pre-recorded and played back to her a second too late. _What’s... happening?_

A wind so strong it shook boulders loose from their deep forest trenches knocked her back to the ground as she tried pushing herself up. Mud slapped against her face, smearing her clothes with its darkness as rain soaked her to the bone. _Max, come on!_ she shouted inwardly, her minds voice and her actual voice sounding as though they came from the same place. Far off in the distance. _Get up! Get somewhere safe, now!_

But there was nowhere safe. She stood, leaning into the wind as best she could as it whirled and switched directions at random. It felt as though it wanted her dead. She _knew_ it wanted her dead! She looked about herself, short brown hair whipping in and out of her eyes, she brought a hand to her face and shielded herself as best she could against the storms rage.

Her vision cleared and lightning cracked nearby, a gunshot muffled by rain and winds, but lighting the path ahead. She found herself standing in the center of a dirt path, forest on either side of her, bending and twisting under the pressure of the howling gales. The smell of seawater flooding the banks of her senses.

_Oh my God… I need to move… Now Max, get to high ground._

She pressed on, ignoring the dread building in her gut, and while walking up the path a thick tree snapped in half, plummeting to the ground behind her with a horrifying bang, blocking her off from the path back down. Again she found a message hidden in nature. It was as if the tree were letting her know that walking back down was the wrong decision to make.

_Keep moving… Oh God… Just keep moving._

The ground began to shake as she struggled up the path, its incline increasing as she went along, and rain water surged down the path in the opposite direction, making her slip every few steps. The trek was agony, but then something caught her eye, a beam of light cutting through the rain and wind far above her head.

She looked up and saw the lighthouse and knew instantly where she was.

 _Arcadia Bay?_ she said. _Where did this storm come from?_

She moved faster now, getting to higher ground, and as she pushed against the wind and rain beating against her body she came to the highest point in town, a look out at the base of the lighthouse, the ground trampled into dirt paths under the feet of tourists. She grabbed hold of the bench placed at the edge of the drop off where the lighthouse was built and tried to balance herself. The wind was stronger now, and lightning struck a tree in the forest behind her. She looked out to sea, rain a constant sting in her eyes, and saw forms of horror she never thought possible.

_Holy shit!_

The word _tornado_ didn’t feel right in her mind, this whirlwind was _massive_. A typhoon, something that defied nature. The hurricane screamed, sounding pained and agonized, frustrated and furious, and it ripped across the waters of Arcadia Bay, heading toward the shore. Toward town! It was wind visible, looking dense beyond belief, and its funnelled mouth reaching into the gray clouds above must have been six football fields across.

 _Oh God…_ Max said, and she hugged her arms around herself.

 **“H-hey!”** a voice shouted far off behind her. It was a boys voice. He sounded horrified as he screamed. **“Hey you!”**

She turned around, her wet hair slapping the sides of her face as she shivered, and saw a blond haired boy with thick rimmed glasses limping toward her. He wasn’t too big, maybe a few inches taller than she was, but he was soaked through with rain and his black hoodie clung to his body the way Max imagined an octopus would suction onto its prey. His voice was shockingly loud against the sound of wind and rain, far louder than hers was. How could she hear him better than she heard herself?

 _What are you doing here?_ she yelled back, _I-it's not safe!_ But the boy ignored her as he looked over her shoulder and saw the hurricane.

 **“Holy shit!”** he yelled. **“You seeing that? We’ve got to move! Now!”**

 _I know!_ Max yelled back, and the boy reached out for her with his left hand as he limped closer.

**Time slowed.**

She watched the boy, his eyes squinting under the shrieks of rain, relatively short blond hair blowing wildly in all directions, the wind looking as if it where abrasive against his skin. And his hands, one wrapped around his middle as wind blew up his hoodie, the other reaching out to her, and his eyes were a certain shade of light green that she hadn't ever seen before. He kept reaching, moving in slow motion, his fingernails dirty and his brow furrowed in desperation. She instantly trusted him. She knew he held within himself something that she related to, and where that sense of familiarity came from... she had no idea.

**Time slammed against the insides of her skull, pushing outward, and she knew that something was off. Nothing made sense, and the world moved at its hurricane pace once more.**

She accepted his gesture, her own sense of desperation forcing her to cling to the nearest person she trusted, and reached out her right hand, letting whatever warmth she amassed beneath her crossed arms escape, but before they could grab hold of each other a bolt of lightning struck the tower.

The ground shook, and the boy fell to the ground, his bad ankle must have twisted even further. Max moved toward him in terror, but a _whipping_ sound made her turn back to look over the waters just as a massive fishing boat was lifted by the hurricane and hurled through the air.

 _Whoa! No!_ she yelled, and the boat slammed into the lighthouse with a crash, the noise so loud it made her ears pop, and the towers light was extinguished, plunging the world into a gray haze as its top half began to crumble.

She put her arms above her head, trying to protect herself from the tower as it fell down on her, but she _knew_ she would die. She _knew_ she would be crushed! The tower was falling toward her and the boy was screaming something and all time began racing forward unt-

* * *

  **Max - Blackwell. 1:22PM**

**Hours Till Dawn: 90.5**

She gasped for air, waking the way a bullet would be shot from a gun, hurled into consciousness as she looked around the room.

_Oh… Oh my God… That was a dream? But, hmm... It felt so real…_

She looked to her hands, balled into fists on her desk over her notebook, and unclenched them slowly. Her palms were sweaty and her heart was beating faster than it had ever beaten before. But it was only a dream, she was sure of it, so she took in a deep and stabilizing breathe as she folded her hands neatly over her desk.

 _I’m okay… I’m in Mr. Jeffersons class,_ she thought to herself. _Just a crazy, vivid dream._

But she didn’t believe herself. It was as if she were there, and that boy that tried to help her… why would her subconscious dream _him_ up? He looked so desperate and scared… was that how she looked to him too? Desperate and scared?

_Maybe I should stop analyzing, it was just a dream... I'm in class. Everything's cool. I'm okay._

A paper ball soared through the air as Mr. Jefferson looked down to flip through his lesson plan, hitting the shyest girl Max had ever met. Kate Marsh. She jumped a little as the ball hit her head, but looked to her lap in silence as she sniffled and ignored the taunting looks she was given from the girl who threw it.

Max looked to the paper ball offender, Victoria Chase, and scowled discretely. Never before had she met someone so totally _nineties-high-school-movie-mean_. And by that she meant she was a _total_ and _indisputable_ bitch, something straight out of that Mean Girls movie Max watched one summer with her old friend nearly five years ago. At least that summer memory was good, unlike any other that had Victoria in it. 

Max sighed as she blinked slowly, trying her best to wake up and wash that hurricane dream out of her head, and she scanned the room to distract herself.

The school was a pleasant place on the surface, and she looked out the windows that lined the wall to her right wistfully. Blackwell had a scenic campus, beautiful in the fall since the turning of seasons was just hitting its peak, autumn sweetly kissing each tree with orange and red, and Max smiled softly so that no one would notice. It was perfect photo season, each evenings Golden Hour being more than just _golden_ in her eyes, and she wished she could watch the sunset right then and there rather than continue watching the Victoria show as she showed off her knowledge to Mr. Jefferson.

 _Mr. Jefferson…_ Max thought, and she felt her cheeks warming up. He was a huge inspiration, and she couldn’t believe that - upon her acceptance into the photography program at Blackwell - he of all people would be her teacher. She watched him as he spoke confidently, quoting famous words by photographers and philosophers as if it were easy, and Max felt tired. How could she keep up with him? His short brown hair, styled to perfection each morning looked _extra_ dandy today, and his clear skin practically glowed in the natural light that the windows let into the classroom. Behind him a whiteboard was built into the wall, never really being used since Mr. Jefferson was more of a speaker than a writer, and everyone listened when he spoke. Not like Max, barely anyone listened when she found her voice and tried to engage in class conversation. But whatever, she didn't really need to speak, she just had to focus on the school, on Mr. Jefferson, and  _anything_ other than the Mean Girls entourage sitting off to her left as they tormented poor Kate Marsh across the room.

Mr. Jefferson adjusted his glasses as they slid down his nose, and Max looked back to him, his glasses reminding her of the boy from her wild hurricane dream. It was as if she were back in the dream, his eyes light green and pleading with her to reach out for his hand...

"-an example of a photographer." It was Mr. Jeffersons voice cutting through her memory of the boy, and Max looked up to find him standing and pacing the room. "-Who perfectly captured the human condition in black and white..."

 _Ooooh crap..._ Max groaned inwardly.  _Please don't look at me, I'll give you three whole dollars if you **don't** look at me. Please don't look at me._

And of course, he did, but she hadn't been paying attention, that boy from her dream still haunting her even now. 

"Diane Arbus," announced Victoria, and Mr. Jefferson turned to look at her as a small smirk of pride flashed across his face. 

 _God, Victoria... You always sound so snotty,_ Max thought, but a small part of her felt bad for thinking that way about the girl even though she deserved it. Max hated bullies like Victoria. Just because she had money and what she called a _'sense of fashion,'_  itsomehow made her better than everyone else, save the other rich kids who partied. It all must have been an act, though, since no real human could be that shallow, could they? 

 _Unless she's a robot,_ Max thought to herself, and she bit her lower lip as she suppressed a smile. 

But Mr. Jefferson _totally_ liked Victoria, his star pupil no doubt, acing all his tests and producing beautiful photo’s on a daily basis. Max looked to her again, taking in her bright red lipstick and stylish short hair. _She must be holding in some series secrets,_ Max thought. _One hundred percent would pay to hear her thoughts just once… Wonder what she thinks of me… Pfft, like I care._ But maybe she did… Just a little.

“Mr. J,” said a boy, raising his hand and leaning back in his chair. “Can I be excused? Back in a flash promise.”

“Yes, Joshua... But only because you’ve managed to impress me with your submission to the Everyday Hero photography competition,” Mr. Jefferson replied smoothly, giving the boy who had spoken a small nod.

“Righteous,” said Joshua, and Max watched him as he pushed away from his desk and stood, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked out of the room confidently. He seemed like the kind of boy Victoria would go for. He was tall, had a cool last name - she thought it might be Washington - and was tan skinned, but above all else had interesting features. The hue of his eyes made Max want to get close to him, not in a romantic way, but just close enough so that she could search his eyes for any hidden flecks of gold between the shades of brown present there. He really did seem quite interesting, and she had heard that he got into Blackwell through some sort of backdoor transfer program that no one had heard of before. She also heard that he came from money. Like,  _serious_ money. He definitely qualified as Mean Girls material.

Even though he only recently started attending classes, Max was sure that he would be snatched up by Victoria and her crew. But after watching him more closely, she changed her mind. He seemed a lot like her. Just going with the flow of the universe and all that jazz. If he found friends, great, if he didn't, then  _meh,_ not the end of the world. She admired that sort of disposition. 

 _Righteous,_ Max repeated the word he had used in her head. _Alright. New kid Josh Washington seems cool._

Mr. Jefferson cleared his throat, and Max looked back to him just as he pressed on the center of his glasses and pushed them back up his face. It reminded her of her dream... and the boy she met there. 


	2. Paradox

**Chris - Blackwell. 1:22PM**

**Hours Till Dawn: 90.5**

He gasped for air, waking the way a bullet would be shot from a gun, hurled into consciousness as he looked around the room.

 _Holy shit!_ Chris yelled, his own voice ringing inside his head. _I’m… alive? It was a dream?_

He sat up straighter in his seat, breathing in deep as the smell of storms and sea water faded from his senses. The dream, he couldn’t describe it. The most powerful and heart pounding moment he ever lived through didn’t hold a candle to the experience. Or perhaps he was overthinking it, since his first night out with Josh was something he’d never forget. But that dream… It was so surreal. There was a power behind it that he didn’t understand.

 _How can I be back in class?_ he asked himself, and a shudder went through his body.

The dream started with him waking in the middle of a forest, the only sources of light being lightning strikes and the beam from a lighthouse he was drawn to. He thought that it would be the only safe place to wait out the storm, but on his way he nearly got crushed by a huge rock as it rolled down hill. He barely dodged it, but he never was quick on his feet and he stepped awkwardly on a tree root. The funny thing was, in that moment he wasn’t too afraid, only happy that no one had seen him embarrass himself by getting owned by nature so badly. _Christ, Chris, should have paid more attention in climbing class._ He had to limp the rest of the way, but then he saw that girl… Everything changed after that. Time felt funny, like it was out of place as he watched the girl reach out for him in slow motion, but then the ground shook and he fell.

Chris let his shoulders slouch forward as he put his elbows on the table before him and sighed.

 _How can I focus on science when I almost died in The Matrix?_ he thought to himself, and though he wanted to leave class early he forced himself to sit still so his heart would fall back into a semi-normal rhythm.

He looked around himself, no one in his classroom knowing that he had just gone through some sort of serious inner trauma, and he cleared his throat. His body still felt awful after having rain beat down on it for so long in the dream. His skin felt cold, how could the dream be so lifelike?

 _Fuck... Uncanny valley to the max,_ he thought. _Lifelike but still fake._

His classroom was a big place, cupboards with glass doors full of chemicals and beakers lined the walls on his left, while windows ran along the wall to his right, letting small amounts of sunlight trickle into the room. His teacher, Mrs. Grant, sat at the front of the room, the black chalkboard behind her filled with scribbles of various equations and theories. The science room at Blackwell was right next to the room Josh was in. He talked about his photography class a lot, noting the cruelty of American girls and how cute the shy ones were at the back of the class. Chris wondered what life would be like if he were more like Josh in an artistic way rather than personality-wise. He wasn’t too creative in an artsy way, never doing well in the art classes his elementary school stuffed down his throat, but Josh always had an eye for stuff like that. He was right next door to Chris now, sitting in class probably going bananas over his teacher - who Chris had to admit was _insanely_ hot - and being in a room full of artsy people like himself.

 _Ugh… Screeeew youuuu science._ Chris sighed inwardly. _I mean Imma still go to class though, Imma still go, cause you’re super cool_.

He smirked at his lame choice in words and leaned back on his stool. To his right was a boy Chris hadn’t talked to much, but he watched him as he doodled in his notebook. Warren. The name was scribbled in super tiny font and then big bold letters all over the place on one page of his notes, and Chris assumed that that was his name. He seemed nice, but above all else intimidatingly smart. Yesterday he saw him right out a sequence of numbers that filled up half his page, and it took Chris a while to realize that it was pi… Warren had to be kidding. How could he remember all that? 3.141592653589… He just kept going! He ended up writing the first hundred or so numbers to the sequence, and Chris was thoroughly impressed. The kids head must have been filled with numbers and algorithms.

 _Unlike mine that's filled with horror movies and jellybeans, or... Something. But at least I have good music taste. Warren_ _must absolutely **murder** rubix cubes though,_ Chris thought, and he pushed the memory of 3.14 away as he looked back to the room around him.

The seating arrangement aloud two people to sit together per work bench, and Chris instantly found a spot near the back corner of the room on his first day. He liked the view, being able to see the rows of kids throughout the room let him people-watch like he never had before. And behind him was a scale model skeleton who he called _Chris 2_ , positioned in the corner of the room behind the back door. So yes, Chris loved the science room, even though he figured he wasn’t half as smart or gifted as the other kids in his class.

“Chris? Chris… Christopher?” Chris’s teacher called his name as if she had been repeating it for a long time, and his attention snapped back to the head of the room. “Perhaps you’d like to tell us who it was that birthed the three laws of motion into the scientific world?”

“O-oh. Yeah I…” Chris’s mind went blank. This was kindergartener stuff, why was he blanking? The answer was right there, but his brain couldn’t focus on anything other than the phantom pain of his twisted ankle.

“Pst…” whispered the boy next to him. “Isaac…”

“Oh, uh, jeez s-sorry,” Chris stuttered, speaking to the teacher as if Warren hadn’t just given him the answer. “Isaac Newton.”

“Thank you! Warren…” Mrs. Grant announced, giving the boys a sad look. “But next time, I sincerely hope you do the readings Chris. And Warren, don’t cover for your classmates, please, how else will they grow intellectually?”

Warren responded with an awkward nod as he scratched the back of his head, and Chris frowned as he avoided the eyes of Mrs. Grant.

“Anyways…” she hummed, and as she went back to teaching her lesson, Chris elbowed Warren gently.

“Hey,” he whispered. “I swear I’m not a total air head. Just having a wild-ass day. Thanks man.”

“I know a fellow day-dreamer when I see one,” Warren whispered back. “Science is the bomb dot com and all but sometimes I just wanna tune it out, too.”

 _Bomb dot com?_ Chris thought, and he couldn’t help but smile. _Okay. We’ve got a weirdo on our hands… And I love it._

“Good thing I can relate to someone here,” Chris whispered back, and Warren smiled as he turned back to his notebook doodles, so Chris looked to his teacher.

Mrs. Grant was a big woman, both physically and figuratively. Her voice took up a lot of space in the room and Chris couldn’t help but at least try to listen when she spoke, even though the dream still had him on edge. She was going on about something now that Chris had always found fascinating, but today it just made him feel even more uneasy.

Paradoxes. She always ended her classes with fun talks about random theories or subjects related to science, and though Chris was always in the mood to debate about space and time and all that mythical stuff, something was making him want nothing more than to shut the conversation down. It was making his head hurt.

“Imagine if you could take a paradox,” she said. “And form it into something physical that you can hold, like… Oh, lets say a klein bottle just for fun.”

She paused for a moment before moving a lock of her thick and curled black hair away from her eyes, and Chris remembered the girl from his dream, her blue eyes alight with horror, her short hair blocking her vision…

“-What would happen if we had two of these klein bottles, both representing a paradox, come into contact with one another?” Mrs. Grant continued, and Chris was brought back to the discussion.

“Boom goes universe,” Warren said, his voice clear and confident as the rest of the class turned to look at him.

“Why think that Warren?” asked a girl sitting closer to the center of the room. She had short and straight dark hair that was held back in a pony-tail, and Chris could tell she was _way_ too serious about science just from the way she talked. “Maybe they’d produce an entirely new universe within our own.”

“Nah Brooke, don't think so, I’m sensing total catastrophic global devastation,” Warren said, and Chris swallowed hard. “Imagine those infinities sending time and space whirling around each other. It’d be like a tornado. Like a _blackhole_ tornado.”

 _Catastrophic global devastation…_ It was like he was back in the dream again, wind and rain snapping entire trees in half and pushing him back to the ground. The words Warren chose to describe what would happen if two paradoxes came into contact with each other felt extremely ominous. What were the chances that he would talk about blackholes and tornados right after Chris woke up from the whirlwind dream?

 _Final destination featuring Chris, über creepy,_ Chris thought, and then came Brooke’s voice again.

“I think a more peaceful outcome is possible, actually,” she sighed, her voice nasally as she adjusted her glasses. “It’s true that there are infinite possibilities for what might happen, but I think they’d sing with each other rather than scream. There is a chance for destruction, but you can't argue that there isn't a natural _something_ that keeps the universe in order.”

“Hmm, true say, Brooke, true say...” Warren said, smiling at the girl as he rubbed his chin in deep thought. “What about you, Chris?” he asked after a moments rest.

Chris was caught off guard, and he looked around the room to find that all eyes were on him. Usually he was good under social pressure. He was the designated class clown of his grade in high school, but the dream… And that girl… He couldn’t shake himself out of the mental funk it put him in.

_Be smart brain dammit, make words!_

“Nothing,” he said honestly, shrugging as Warren tilted his head to one side and bunched his eyebrows together at him. “I don’t think anything would happen, actually.”

Warren and Brooke’s eyes lit up in that fantastical way that only a true science nerd’s eyes could, and Chris braced himself for a full on debate, but just as they opened their mouths a loud bell rang throughout the school.

“Saved by the bell, Chris,” Mrs. Grant smiled, and Chris pursed his lips as he nodded.

_Thank you, God, for ending this class. Serious props bro, **serious** props. _

He stood abruptly, nearly knocking his stool backward as the backs of his knees hit the bars where his feet were resting, and stuffed his textbooks into his backpack as he threw one strap over his shoulder. He was already passed Warren when Brooke gave him a smile which he reciprocated.

“See you ‘round, Warren,” Chris called over his shoulder, and the other boy smiled and waved politely.

“Bye Chris, nice finally talking with you!” he said, and he turned to put his own books in his backpack, but as he edged them off the table the corner of one textbook hit a glass beaker. It jerked to the side, teetering on the edge for a moment before sealing Warren’s fate and swan diving off the table.

“Oh crud!” Warren groaned, and the glass shattered against the ground.

Chris was already at the door. Warren had bad luck, but he couldn't do anything to help him. He could have stayed back and helped clean up, but Chris needed to see Josh desperately.

“Sorry War,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else, and he ducked out of the classroom, walking fast toward the front entrance of the school and bumping into a small short haired girl on his way. He didn’t look back at her as he moved, but noticed that she had earbuds in.

“Sorry,” he murmured, continuing past her and finding the main entrance, pushing it open with his hip.

_Josh is NOT going to believe this shit… Way too freaky._

He monologued internally as he went down the steps of the school, skipping every other one, and he thought about what Josh would be doing in that moment. He knew his schedule, right about now he’d be walking off campus in search of a silent spot to smoke or read. Chris didn’t even think about pulling out his phone to text him. Thank God Josh was so predictable.

He picked up his pace and jogged, trying not to look like he needed to be somewhere too desperately, but just fast enough to reach Josh before he moved somewhere else.

A cool breeze made him hug his arms around himself as he came to the sidewalk directly in front of his school, and he pulled out his phone. It’s clock read 1:31PM.

A pair of kids skateboarding behind him collided with each other, and Chris turned to look at them.

“Yo sorry,” said one, and the other shook his head.

“My fault,” said the other, and Chris thought back to warren and his klein bottle paradox prediction.

Two worlds crashing into each other, like skateboarders not looking where they were going, and in that moment Chris realized exactly what the world was. It was chaos, and the hurricane dream popped back into Chris's head, making him feel as though he were free falling. 

Where was Josh? 


	3. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now heres where it gets strange...

As if the entire encounter were already predetermined, Chris looked across the road just as Josh came to stand opposite him on the other side.

“Hey, Josh!” Chris yelled, and he smiled. He could see Josh, the boy looking both ways before deciding to walk across the road. He looked up and Chris knew Josh had seen him, because he was smiling now, his face lighting up as he picked up his pace, and Chris remembered the first time they kissed. The memory so much sweeter now than it was in the actual moment. It was his most prized possession, and he thanked God for Josh.

“What’s so important?” Josh yelled, and Chris took a step forward as he sighed, not allowing himself to step onto the road.

“I have this crazy thing to tell you about!” he shouted, and Josh raised his eyebrows as he adjusted the beanie on his head. It was maroon, a present from Beth last christmas, and she had a matching one. The memory made Chris’s smile falter as Josh continued walking.

The world around him was alive with soft wind. Leaves blown off the birch trees scattered across campus accenting the world behind Chris with a sad sort of emotion. Something about the world felt barren, like it were dying. Chris found that Fall often held those sort of feelings within itself. Kind of like Josh. He didn't know why.

Josh was in the middle of the road now only six meters away, and if he wanted to Chris could walk out and meet him halfway. He didn't move.

In his peripheral Chris could see something moving down the road on Josh's left. It was going too fast. Before he could see what it was a sick feeling anchored his feet to the ground.

He looked to Josh, seeing that he had turned his head to the side, his eyes wide with shock, not complete horror, but more in inconvenient surprise as he went to make a big step forward. He never took the step, and involuntarily Chris reached out his left hand, and -  _e_ _verything shifted a centimetre to the left._

Chris took a breath in, his ribs refusing to move an inch as his lungs filled with air, making his chest ache.

In bullet time a police car came flying down the road, taking a sharp turn, and crashing into Josh. 

The sound of wheels screeching, glass shattering, the concrete of the road being torn up as the car jerked forward, all made Chris' heart stop. The noise shattered the sound barrier, booming through the air as Chris realized what had happened right in front of him. It only took a few seconds: Josh was walking toward him, he stopped, and then he was hit. He was dead. There was only the noise of what was happening in front of him, the world screaming, and Josh hadn't made a sound. 

“ _Josh!_ ” Chris screamed, his hand still reaching toward him. He was so far away. So _fucking_ far away and all Chris could do was watch.

The sound of the car hitting his body came first. He couldn't believe it. No blood. No gore. Just bone meeting metal. Snapping crudely, and Chris realized that he was watching everything unfold in the same way he saw the girl in his dream, horror contained in a slow motion moment. The car was hammering into Josh agonizingly slow... Every inch breaking something else in his body. He couldn't look away. Josh was dying and he _couldn't breathe._

“Josh!” he yelled again, and he was crying, leaning forward as he tried to run but was unable to move. His arm was still reaching for Josh as he began rolling up the hood of the car, one of his arms smashing into the wind shield, sending cracks zigzagging up the glass. That was when he first saw blood. Josh’s blood, exploding from his arm and the side of his head, spraying onto the wind shield.

Something pinched Chris’s brain at the top of his head, sending what felt like a current of electricity shooting down his body, and he breathed in.

“No!” he yelled with purpose, as if his call held power, and suddenly the worlds flow was broken.

Light began refracting off thin layers of glass in the air, splitting into primary colours as they froze before hitting the ground. It was raining, but the droplets suspended in the air weren't made of water. They looked to be solid, like glass, and from them more shattered light poured onto the road. The world around him was a haze of low saturation, and he couldn’t turn his head. In front of him was Josh, stuck in time, eyes squeezed shut with a few of his teeth frozen in the air floating above his head.

Chris was holding his breath again, taking in what he was seeing, and when he couldn't keep himself from breathing any longer he let his lungs collapse and a scream tear all the frustration out of his body.

 **He can't die! I won't let him die!** he screamed, and he realized that his voice sounded the same way it had in his dream. Too powerful to be his.   

The world went spiralling in the opposite direction. Events unfolding in reverse as he cried, tears burning down his cheeks, and he fell to his knees. Josh’s blood flowing back into his arm, his skull no longer a shattered mess of hair and bone, his fingers bending back into shape, the car revving its engine in reverse as it drove backward.

Chris went to speak but his throat was blocked off with thick emotion, he was immobilized, but the world moved on, shifting backward like a VHS tape stuck in reverse.

He felt himself falling, and thought back to the time Josh first said he was going to Arcadia Bay. He had the same feeling then too. _The first time Josh said he was going to Arcadia Bay…_ He wanted nothing more than to kiss Josh just one more time. Just one more  _fucking_ time! He already lost his sisters. His parents lived for each other, not for him. Chris was all he had left, and he would be _damned_ if he let Josh die before he travelled the world like he always wanted to. 

Through the horrors of the world gliding backward Chris could hear something. A song, building inside his head slowly until it came to scream in his ears. It had an odd beat, and Chris swore he could see sound waves in front of his eyes. Lines dancing in front of him, lapping over each other as the beat faded in and out, rising and falling like the tide. He’d never heard the song before, its electronic bass hitting his eardrums aggressively. It had no words, not until a single lyric shouted in his head before falling silent.

 _-Like we never left home,_ it said, and Chris wished they hadn't. If he forced Josh to stay, he never would have been hit by the car. If they never left home, Chris wouldn't have to feel the pain of watching him die. If they never left home... They'd still be able to listen to Sweater Weather. They'd still have each other. 

He closed his eyes as he focused on his left hand, still reaching out toward Josh who was now smiling as he walked backward across the road. The boy adjusted his maroon beanie, and nothing in that moment felt strange to Chris. He blinked hard, and when Chris opened his eyes he wasn’t standing on the sidewalk anymore.

He was in a white space, only for a moment, before finding himself in class. But in that white space, a girl stood in front of him. Her eyes a soft blue, and her right hand was reaching out toward him as he realized that he was still reaching with his left. She looked just as confused as he was, and then the moment faded and they were separated.

He was aware of one thing as he realized what had just happened, and he was back in his seat next to Warren by the time he finally gained control over his body again. What he had just done... What he had just seen... The girl from his dream. It was all incredible, and he knew that the time was twenty-two minutes past one.

He had gone back in time. 


	4. Encounter

**Max - Blackwell. 1:22PM**

**Hours Till Dawn: 90.5**

_No!_ Max gasped, but the word only screamed in her mind rather than out in the open.

A moment ago she was in the girls bathroom, class had ended and she walked down the corridor. Someone bumped into her but he kept moving forward, pushing past kids in a hurry to get somewhere.

 _What the hell is happening?_ she asked herself, looking around the room to see that she was back in class, Mr. Jefferson going on about photographers and camera lenses. She was shaking now, her right hand aching, and she remembered everything that had happened after the bell rang.

_Okay think Max, don’t freak out, just think… Remember everything that happened before you... Went back in time?_

With her thoughts keeping her calm as she focused on Mr. Jefferson, Max remembered how cold the girls bathroom was. One of the windows was open, just a small piece of glass in the upper lefthand corner of the room, but open wide enough to let the cool autumn weather inside. The blue tiled walls and the blue of the stall doors behind her brought out the blue she was feeling inside. She felt uncomfortable, sad even, since she was a nervous wreck when it came to attending classes. She wanted to submit a photo to Mr. Jeffersons contest, just like new kid Josh had, and maybe impress him with her confidence, but what hope did she have? So she sighed as she splashed cold water on her face, telling herself to chill out, and that was when she saw a butterfly come fluttering into the bathroom through the open window.

She knew what it was. A pure breed of Emperor Butterfly, that classic blue winged insect that appeared in shows that mentioned the butterfly effect. _Why do they always choose the Emperor? Maybe they should try a Monarch instead, just to be edgy,_ she told herself, smiling as she pulled out her instant camera. The butterfly landed on the edge of a metal bucket behind the farthest stall, and she approached it slowly as she bent over and took a photo.

The picture released itself from the camera, and as she shook the polaroid to clear its image the bathroom door swung open. Whoever had walked in had very heavy footsteps, and the sound of their footfalls made Max happy to know that they couldn't see her. She was still behind the last stall at the end of the bathroom, thankful that the butterfly drew her over there, and then the person who walked in began talking to themselves.

“It’s cool Nathan, don’t stress… You’re okay bro,” they said, and Max was confused as she realized that it was a boys voice. He kept stuttering, slipping over his words as he looked around the bathroom checking to see if anyone was there. Max prayed that he wouldn’t find her, and thankfully, he didn’t. So he kept talking, walking over to the mirror closest to the door and putting his hands on either side of the sink beneath it.

“Don’t be scared. You own this school," he murmured. "If you wanted, you could blow it up! Y-you’re… You’re the man.”

Max couldn’t stop herself from peering around the edge of the stall to look at the boy. She recognized him instantly as Nathan Prescott, Victoria’s equal on the Blackwell hierarchy of popularity, and he was sweating bullets. He was wearing his usual red leather varsity school jacket, paired with his black pants and dark beige dress shoes, and at a distance he was attractive, but Max knew that beneath the surface was a well of unpredictability. Nathan was horrifying, always looking like he was fighting hard to hold in some sort of angry outburst, and Max had no idea how the organized Victoria could hang around a guy like Nathan so much. 

Suddenly the door to the bathroom was kicked in, and Nathan jumped while Max ducked back behind the stall.

A girl began talking to him, pushing in stall doors as she verified that the room was empty, and Max was glad that she hadn’t found her either. The girl who entered the bathroom turned back to Nathan, talking louder now, accusing him of selling drugs to kids around school. She wanted money from him, and she founded tough. It was like something out of a high school drama or a cop show, Max felt like a spy, but then Nathan got angry and he turned to the girl and yelled.

Max couldn’t bring herself to look around the corner as Nathan continued ranting, but when the girl who walked in began talking quieter out of fear, Max knew something was wrong.

She looked around the edge of the stall and saw Nathan aiming a gun at the girls head.

“Where did you get that?” she asked, her eyes wide in horror, and Max finally got a good look at her. She had short hair like she did, but it was died bright blue and she wore ripped jeans and a skull tank top under a thin brown leather jacket. She was taller than Nathan, but no match for his gun. Max’s blood ran cold as Nathan pressed forward, yelling at the girl to stop trying to control him as he slammed a hand into the wall beside her head, and the gun came closer to the girls stomach.

 _Oh no. Please no._ Max thought, her breathing picking up pace as the air became thicker in the room making it hard to breathe.

“Get that thing _away_ from me psycho!” the girl screamed, and she pushed Nathan’s gun wielding hand away from her stomach, and he squeezed the trigger.

_Bang._

A bullet shot from the gun, hitting the girl in the stomach, and Max saw blood stain her white shirt.

“No!” Max yelled, coming out of her hiding spot as the blast from the gun made her jump into action. The blue haired girl, blood weeping from her stomach wound as she fell to the ground, was dying. Nathan staggered backward, dropping the gun to the floor in shock, and Max reached out toward the girl with her right hand.

Nathan looked back toward her as she reached forward, and they made eye contact. His eyes were dark, literally, as if someone coloured over his iris’s with black marker, only allowing small amounts of his natural brown to come through.

“I’m sorry!” he gasped, the gun hitting the floor, his face screwing up in unimaginable terror, and Max couldn’t breathe.

Then everything shifted one _centimetre to the right._

The gun Nathan dropped to the floor began floating upward, falling in reverse and landing in Nathan’s hand as he turned around. The blue haired girl, blood receding back into her stomach as she rewound into a standing position, and the gun fired, but instead of a second bullet hitting her, the one already in her stomach flew back into the gun. There was no more blood.

Max closed her eyes as she focused on her right hand, still reaching out toward the girl who was now kicking in the bathroom door after Nathan with a scowl on her face. Nothing in that moment felt strange. She blinked hard, and when Max opened her eyes she wasn’t standing in the girls bathroom anymore. The boy from her dream was standing across from her in a completely white space. She recognized him immediately, and he was reaching out toward her, but then he was gone and so was the white room.

She was aware of one thing as she realized what had happened. The time was twenty-two minutes past one. And then she woke up in Jefferson’s class.

Just then Victoria chase threw a paper ball at Kate Marsh, hitting her in the side of the head, and Max froze. _Holy moly, did I just… Go back in time? Oh man, this is real. Wait, I’ll know for sure if-_

“-an example of a photographer,” said Mr. Jefferson, his voice cutting through her memory of Nathan and the blue haired girl and the blond guy with glasses, and Max looked up to find him standing and pacing the room. "-Who perfectly captured the human condition in black and white…”

“Diane Arbus,” Max said without thinking, and she bit her lip as a stone of anxiety twisted in her stomach as Mr. Jefferson looked at her.

“Very good Max,” he said, and he looked around the room, telling his students to be more like her and do the readings. When Max looked over at Victoria, she saw that she was scowling at her.

 _Okay. okay okay okay okay okay… Keep calm Max. This could just be another wild dream._ She told herself, trying to kill any hope for powers before she could get too excited. _What happened next? I think… I think new kid Josh asks if he can-_

“Mr. J,” said Josh, raising his hand and leaning back in his chair. “Can I be excused? Back in a flash promise.”

“Whoa,” Max said, and the class turned to look at her. “Oh, s-sorry.” She looked down at her notebook, the page blank, and she wished that she could disappear as Mr. Jefferson cleared his throat.

“Well, uh… Yes Joshua, but only because you’ve managed to impress me with your submission to the Everyday Hero’s photography competition,” he replied smoothly, giving Josh a small nod.

 _Righteous,_ Max said in her head.

“Righteous,” Josh said, and Max smiled. What had happened, it was real, but then her smile faded. If what happened in her classroom was real, then that girl would still be killed by Nathan. Josh stood and left the room, and Max had to gather her thoughts as she wrapped her head around the possibilities of time travel. How did it happen? Could she test it again? She looked to her right hand and flexed her fingers, and felt something pinch the front of her brain, sending an electrical current buzzing through her body. For a moment everything in the room paused, and she gasped as she realized that she was single handedly holding time still just for that small moment.

The bell signalling the end of class rang clear through the air, and everyone stood, packing things away as they got ready for their next class or a break between their courses. Max stood with determination, ready to head into the girls bathroom and potentially save that girls life.

Before leaving her classroom Max looked to Victoria who was now talking to Mr. Jefferson, leaning forward on his desk as they talked, and thought of Nathan. His eyes were so dark after the moment he killed that girl. Did he shoot her on purpose? Maybe when the blue haired girl pushed his arm away it made him pull the trigger by accident? No, either way he didn’t deserve an excuse. He shouldn’t have had a gun at school. But then she remembered the look on his face as he turned around… _I’m sorry._ He apologized as if he knew that the girl meant something to her. What could that have meant?

 _Nothing,_ Max thought. _Nathan’s dangerous. It meant nothing._

She turned away from Victoria, ignoring her thoughts, and ran into the hall.

* * *

  **Chris - Blackwell. 1:22PM**

**Hours Till Dawn: 90.5**

There was a moment of complete surprise as Chris blinked hard a few times, his eyes not used to the light in the science room for some reason, until finally his vision cleared as he looked over at Warren.

He was just finishing the N at the end of his name in a doodle when Chris heard his teacher call his name.

"Chris?" she said, and he was ready this time.

“Yes?” he replied, looking up and into her eyes as he focused on breathing.

“Good to see you’re listening,” she smiled, and it was then that Chris realized he was still shaking. “Perhaps you’d like to tell us who it was that birthed the three laws of motion into the scientific world?”

“Isaac Newton,” he said evenly, though he could feel himself sweating underneath his sweater.

“Very good,” Mrs. Grant said, satisfied with his response, and she went back to her lesson.

Chris looked down at his hands as he worked out what had happened in his head. Josh was walking across the street, and he got hit by a car, but then… He didn’t? He didn’t because Chris was there to turn back time.

 _I’m insane,_ Chris laughed in his head, and a poke at his side made him jump as he looked to Warren, the boy holding a pencil toward Chris’s shoulder and smiling.

“You okay?” he whispered. “You look… pale.”

“More than usual?” Chris asked, and Warren chuckled.

“Definitely.”

“Want the truth?” Chris whispered back, swallowing hard and still trying to keep himself from shaking violently, and Warren’s light-hearted expression weakened.

“Yeah,” he said, and Chris looked him in the eyes. They were gray, like storm clouds, and they put Chris on edge.

“Mrs. Grant is gonna start talking about Paradoxes.”

“Huh?” Warren murmured, and then Mrs. Grant began speaking louder, ready to transition into her end of class ritual.

“Now, end of the day theories…" she said, and Warren gave Chris a disbelieving look. " _Paradoxes._ Imagine if you could take a paradox, and form it into something you can hold, like…”

“A klein bottle,” Chris whispered, and only moments later, Mrs. Grant began speaking again.

“lets say a klein bottle just for fun,” she said, and Warren’s eyebrows bunched together as he looked from Chris to Mrs. Grant and back again at least seven times before ending on Chris.

“Did she tell you that at the beginning of class?” he asked, and Chris shook his head. 

“No, she didn’t… Warren, something crazy just happened to me man.”

“What is it?” he asked, but Chris couldn't bring himself to talk, and then Brooke was filling in the silence with her voice.

“If two paradoxes came into contact with one another,” she said. “I think they’d make an entirely new universe.”

 _Boom goes universe,_ Chris thought.

“Nah,” Warren said, looking from Chris to Brooke. “Boom goes universe. I’m sensing total catastrophic global devastation. Imagine those infinities sending time and space whirling around each other. It’d be like a tornado. Like a-"

“Blackhole tornado,” Chris finished, and all eyes turned to him.

“Yeah… Just like, what I was thinking...” Warren said, again bunching his eyebrows together in confusion. “Chris… Are you okay?” But before he could respond the bell rang, and a sudden urgency shook Chris out of his momentary shock.

“Josh,” he whispered, and he was up, pushing his things into his backpack before moving past Warren.

“Chris!” he yelled after him. “Hold up!”

“Careful with your textbook!” Chris yelled over his shoulder, and he was out the door, happy to not hear the sound of a beaker shattering against the floor.

* * *

It was like something out of a movie as Chris left the science room. He needed to get to Josh before anything could happen to him. It was like a picturesque moment where two dumb lovestruck teenagers started running through a crowd only to meet halfway and kiss. Of course this situation was completely different, though, because he wasn’t rushing through a crowd to _kiss_ Josh. He was rushing so he could save his life.

_Josh I won’t let you die! I’m-_

His thoughts were cut short when he ran into a girl, their bodies colliding and all their belongings falling to the ground as they did.

“Ow!” Chris yelled. “Oh shit. Yo I’m in a serious hurry, sorry! I-”

He stopped talking, mouth hanging wide open, and if it could his jaw would have dropped to the floor. Across from him was a short haired girl with light blue eyes, her gray sweater unzipped and a rip in her jeans exposing a red knee from the fall.

“N-no way…” he said, speechless, and when he realized that the girls face mirrored his own reaction, he felt himself get light headed.

_Holy shit… She… She recognizes me too._

Neither of them said anything, laying on the ground perfectly still as if they were frozen in time, people having to step over them as they yelled insults.

Chris wanted to speak, to do anything, but he was frozen. It was the girl from his dream, laying across from him propped up on her elbows as she gawked at him. She was a real person, and the scariest part was seeing that she knew who he was.

“Hey,” he said, but by the time he regained his senses she was already collecting herself and pushing herself up, standing as she bunched her eyebrows together, giving him another look as if he had three heads.

She looked above him, gasping at what she saw, and without notice she turned and ran down the hall.

“Oh my God,” Chris whispered. “Oh… my God! What is _happening_ to me?”

He yelled his last words, still laying on the ground in disbelief before remembering what was at stake.

“Oh shit!” he cursed, and he pulled his phone out. Its clock read 1:31PM. “Josh!”

Before he started panicking he looked above his shoulder and saw what the girl was staring at. It was an analogue clock. 

He pushed himself up, leaving his backpack on the ground as he started running through the hallway, not apologizing to the kids he was shoving out of his way, and just as he reached the front entrance of the school he stopped and looked back.

The girls washroom was directly across from the front entrance, and the dream girl was just about to push inside when she paused and turned her head, looking Chris directly in the eyes.

The stood there for a moment, frozen, eyes locked and palms slick with sweat from anxiety, neither knowing that the other was hoping to save a life, and Chris shook his head before body checking the door open.

He didn’t look back, and he ran down the front steps of Blackwell, looking out across the street and seeing Josh finish his cigarette just as he came to stand on the opposite sidewalk.

“Josh!” he yelled, already feeling himself become slowed down by emotion. “Fuck! _Josh!_ Jesus Christ Josh! Don’t move! Don’t fucking move!”

He ran faster than he had ever run before, and when Chris realized that Josh still couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t keep the tears from forming in his eyes.

“Please!” he screamed, and Josh looked up just as he was about to reach the dotted yellow line of the road, and Chris finally reached the sidewalk.

He stumbled, nearly tripping off the curb between the sidewalk and the road when he heard the car that would kill Josh come revving up the road.

He dove forward as Josh looked to the side, his eyes widening in shock as he saw the car, and tackled him to the ground with a painful thud just as a fire alarm sounded inside the school.

The car squealed to a halt, swerving around Josh and Chris as they slid across the road, their cloths tearing against the concrete as it bit into their skin. The black marks the tires left ran perfectly along the line where Josh had once stood, and in a moment of complete triumph Chris nearly started laughing.

“Josh! Josh are you okay?” he yelled, his arms still wrapped around the boys middle, his wrists skinned by the road and his eyes still burning with tears, but he was smiling.

“Chris!” Josh yelled. “Chris what the _hell_? How did you see that car?”

“That doesn't matter! Are you okay?” he cried, angry now that Josh wasn’t giving him an answer, and he sat up, pulling away from him as he rubbed his eyes.

“Chris?” Josh hushed. “What the _fuck_ just happened? And aw shit… Ow. I landed weird on my back…”

“Can you move?” Chris asked, and before Josh could give him an answer he was crying again, hard. His shoulders were shaking, every part of his body aching as the adrenaline rush faded and he was left with the knowledge that he had just saved Josh’s life. He had gone back in time, and he saved him. He really fucking saved him!

“Chris…” Josh said, keeping his voice level as he sat up and took Chris into his arms, and Chris cried into his chest harder than he had ever cried before.

“I watched you die!” he yelled. “I had to save you. I-I had to save you…”

“Okay Chris, okay… Tell me everything.”

And Josh cradled Chris in his arms, still sitting awkwardly in the road as a crowd grew around them. Chris had looked like a hero, coming out of nowhere and saving Josh from a horrible accident, but he felt like the exact opposite. They were both hurting, and Chris knew that Josh wouldn’t be able to handle the things he had to share. It may send him off the deep end. It could bring on an episode of psychosis. He couldn’t be so selfish, he couldn’t tell Josh. Time travel would have to be his own cross to bear.

People began taking pictures as they realized what had happened. The death of a Blackwell student avoided, and the whole thing was sure to make a great story. Josh didn’t say anything as he held Chris, and Chris couldn’t bring himself to feel anything other than complete and utter relief.

He had saved Josh, and lived to tell the tale.

Behind him was Blackwell, holding within its brick walls the girl from his hurricane dream, and the wailing of its fire alarm made Chris feel safer. At least his crying wasn’t as loud as the alarm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.s. I have a really good feel for Max (as I write her) but Chris is different, since we don't get into his head as much in the game Until Dawn, so I'm hoping to really get that down eventually! Thanks again for keeping up with me lol!


	5. Strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens...

**Chris - Josh’s Dorm: 2:26PM**

“How’s your wrist, okay?” Josh asked, and Chris didn’t have the strength to come up with a witty reply. A few decent jokes came to mind, but none stuck. They didn’t feel right, not at the moment. He nodded his head as he fell back onto Josh’s bed.

After he evaded Josh's death, Chris didn't want the attention of anyone other than Josh, so after a good amount of time spent crying on the road they ignored the pressing questions of students around them as they stood and made their way to Josh's room at Blackwell. 

Nearly an hour had passed since then, and Chris still felt week with anxiety. Josh’s room was dark, the curtains drawn and the lights a dim ghost of their unfulfilled capacity. Posters filled each wall, tapped up against the drywall opposite Chris, and he frowned at the pictures. The one farthest left, closest to Josh’s work space complete with an oak desk and Apple computer, was of Meghan Fox. She wore a black bikini and was looking directly into his eyes with her pale blue ones. She was sexy, and Josh always laughed about the poster, since he loved watching people’s eyes wander to it as they assumed he was into girls. The memory nearly brought a smile to Chris’s face. Nearly…

The next poster was a bit smaller, and the gap it left at the bottom of the wall was filled with photo’s Josh had taken of himself and Chris over the years. Chris didn’t even know that he could look so happy as he eyed the pictures, and he made a mental note to go over them again later. _‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’_ One of Josh’s absolute favourite horror films, was the poster above their photo’s. He only had eyes for the original movie from the eighties, and he’d watched it a _gazillion_ times. The poster was old, ripped at the edges and showing the horrified face of a young girl as she lay in bed, a taloned hand spreading out its five knived fingers above her face. Chris looked to the next poster idly, not wanting to think about anymore blood.

The next was one he had always loved, since it hung on the wall in Josh’s old gaming room in his house back home. A lengthwise poster with no words, more of a big picture really, displaying four young boys. It was a still taken from the movie Stand By Me, adapted from a novella written by Stephan King called The Body, and Chris realized then that Josh had a serious thing for the eighties.

Josh came to sit next to him on the bed, his feet on the floor and his wrists hanging over his knees as he slumped over.

“You haven't said a word since you tackled me,” he said, and Chris didn’t move from his spot, still looking at the boys from Stand By Me.

“Chris?” Josh murmured, turning to look him in the eye, but Chris was still focused on the poster. “Chris… Man… I- I’m freaking the _fuck_ out… What just happened?”

A heavy breath left Chris’s lungs, and he wondered just how long he had been holding that sigh in. His left hand ached, not from the fall or Josh landing hard on it against the pavement, but from what he had done… Grabbing hold of time, it hurt, and he still questioned whether or not he had actually done it.

“Chris,” Josh repeated, a little louder this time, and he moved, pushing himself up and off the edge of the bed so he could stand over Chris, blocking his view of the poster. “Look at me. Please.”

“I-” Chris began, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. What could he say that wouldn’t confuse Josh? That wouldn’t make him disassociate or slip into some sort of mental coma? He’d seen it once before… He couldn’t let that happen to Josh again. Never. And his stomach churned as he remembered the first time he saw Josh slip from reality.

“You can tell me anything,” Josh said tenderly, lowering his voice as if he were talking to a wounded animal, and for a moment, Chris believed he was. Chris felt feral, like at any moment he may snap and start yelling. There was no joy or excitement from moving into a dorm room away from his parents anymore. All he could think about was the girl from his dream, alive and whole in reality, running around somewhere on campus. What else mattered?

 _No._ He scolded himself and bit his lip hard. _Josh matters… Josh is the only thing that’s ever mattered._

“Josh,” he began, and the boy sat down in front of Chris, resting his elbows on Chris’s knees.

“Chris. No joking around, I’m serious,” Josh began, his voice more serious than Chris had ever heard it. “I- we almost _died_. What made you run after me like that?”

“I don’t know if. I can. Tell you,” Chris choked, and Josh leaned backward momentarily, his face still an unreadable mask of serious frowns and questioning looks.

“You said you watched me fucking _die_ man, you can’t save someones life and tell them that and then, just, expect them to _move on_.”

“I don’t know _what_ I saw!” Chris barked, frustrated by the things he was holding back and angry that his voice sounded so shattered from crying. He wished he was stronger… But he just wasn’t. Maybe this wasn’t something he could hide from Josh.

“Start from the beginning then,” Josh said, and Chris sighed in defeat. “For me… Okay?”

“Okay,” Chris said.

“Okay,” Josh said.

“Okay?” Chris repeated.

“I love you Hazel Grace,” Josh smirked, and Chris gave him a look.

“What movie is _that_ from?” Chris asked, and Josh smiled even harder, but winced as he leaned to the right, his left side hurting too much from the fall.

“Not important,” he said, and Chris nodded his head.

“Josh. Before I say _anything_ … I just. You need to trust me, okay?”

“Okay,” Josh said, and again he was smiling. “I trust you. Always have.”

“Always will?”

“Of _course,_ dude,” Josh said, almost sounding offended, and Chris looked down to Josh’s chest.

“Can we lay down?” he asked, and Josh dropped his minor attitude and let his face fall flat.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’d like that.”

He stood, and Chris edged back farther onto the bed, his head hitting the wall as he inched backward. For a second he thought about trying to rewind time again so he wouldn’t hit his head, but then he realized how stupid that would be. He couldn’t use something so life changing on minor things like that, could he? _Definitely not… Don’t want to fuck up the universe. Got NO time for blackhole tornados._

Josh jumped onto the bed, the frame moving silently under his weight as he stepped over Chris and nestled into the space behind him. He wrapped his arms around Chris, wiggling his hand under the boys middle before he lifted his body and it went through. He pressed himself close to Chris, gently, since they were both bruised from Chris’s heroism.

A silence stretched on, and Chris closed his eyes as he felt Josh’s chest against his back. He breathed in, taking in the smell of the room, and went to smile but stopped as the motion hurt his sore cheeks. All around him was Josh, the smell of him, mint and chocolate body wash and clean laundry. A hint of lavender, and the subtle whispers of smoke from cigarettes. If he was content with Josh holding him back home in his bed, then he was over the moon about Josh holding him here. The room was like a shell, keeping anything painful from entering, and Chris thought of it as a fortress. Their fortress. The new home away from home, retiring Chris’s car, at least until they got back.

“Hey hot stuff,” Josh murmured, his voice drowsy as he spoke, and Chris found one of Josh’s hands with his own and laced his fingers between Josh’s.

“I wish I didn’t have to tell you any of this crazy shit going through my head,” Chris sighed, and Josh smiled as he nuzzled the back of Chris’s neck.

“Ditto,” he said, and Chris remembered just how bad things could get for Josh in his mind.

_No… Push that away. Don’t think about that. You’ll just go cra-… get more tired._

“How bout this,” Josh said, and Chris squeezed his hand. “I’ll tell you one of my secrets if you tell me one of yours.”

“Fair,” Chris said, finally finding the will to smile. “But I don’t think these secrets will balance out.”

“Okay, well uh, if we think that one secret is deeper than the other, the person who said it gets to make the other do something.”

“Oh _man_ ,” Chris sighed, and he laughed while letting his body relax under Josh’s protective hold. Chris couldn’t help but think for a moment how reversed the roles were. Josh looked out for him, always keeping mean kids at their schools away, but Chris was more subtle, protecting Josh in ways he may never notice. Josh always found opportunities to save Chris from some sort of drama, but today it was Chris’s turn. _Life is weird sometimes, huh?_

“You’re on,” Chris said, and he twisted slowly in Josh’s arms, turning his body till he came to face him fully. “You go first.”

“Okay…” he hummed, thinking about what to say next. “How about this then, I came to this school, Chris, for a different reason than you think.”

“Really?” Chris asked, suddenly feeling much more awake as he moved closer, letting one of his legs drape over Josh’s. Their toes ran against each others, and Josh jerked his foot back as he smiled.

“You _know_ that shit drives me up the wall!” he laughed. “I’m ticklish A F!”

“So I’ve finally got you saying A F then eh?” Chris smirked, and Josh shook his head.

“Whatever,” he smiled. “Now your turn.”

“Right, uh. Kay. How do I start this,” he began, and Chris was surprised at just how quickly Josh was able to lift his mood. It really should have been the other way around. He should have been the one comforting Josh. “I had a dream…” Chris continued. “And I, damn. I don’t know how to explain this.”

“Go on,” Josh said, slowly starting to trace circles onto Chris’s back with his fingers, and Chris swallowed hard as he avoided Josh’s eyes.

“I met this girl in a dream,” he said. “I was running through a forest. There was a lighthouse, and- and I saw this girl.”

“Great secret,” Josh whispered. “Think you lose though.”

“W-wait,” Chris stuttered, suddenly anxious to be heard as he continued. “I’m not done… I saw this girl in my dream and I woke up in class, but I was totally bugging. The dream felt so real, like I was there or something, and then… Then I saw the girl in real life. I ran into her in the hallway, but the freakiest part of it all was the look on her face. Holy _shit_ Josh… She looked like she _recognized_ me too.”

“For reals?” Josh asked, and Chris nodded his head. “You know I’m superstitious, you better not be fucking with me.”

“I swear it. I’m not.”

“On Hannah and Beth?”

“Cross my heart! On Hannah and Beth.”

“Fuck,” Josh sighed, and he leaned forward and kissed Chris’s forehead hard. “That’s heavy. But okay, I’mma say our secrets were equal.”

“Whatever, I dig that, even though a psychic experience would _so_ trump a tiny Blackwell secret _any_ day,” Chris said, not feeling the humour of the situation any longer. He was proud of himself for leaving out the part where he watched Josh die, as well as the part about the tornado. That all seemed too heavy.

“Alright my turn,” Josh sighed, and his small smile suddenly became a serious flat line. “I guess I should tell you. It’s about time anyway.”

“Go for it,” Chris said. “Trust me, no matter what it is I’ll believe you.”

“The reason I came to Blackwell, Chris,” he said, and he paused, looking him in the eyes as if he were about to say something that might change both their lives. “Hannah and Beth… I came to this school, because of Hannah and Beth. They disappeared three months ago and I think they came here, to Arcadia Bay.”

Chris’s mind went blank as Josh’s words sank in. He genuinely thought that his sisters were somewhere in Arcadia Bay… But where did that come from? How did it make any sense? Chris’s brain was kicking into overdrive as he thought through the possibilities, and after a moments pause he looked to Josh again.

“Wait. I mean. _Wow_ , Josh. Holy _S_ _hit_ with a capital S... What would make you think that?”

“No,” he said.

“No?”

“No. You’ll hear that after you tell me what you’ve been wanting to this whole time.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“You better not be holding something back because of my mental crap,” Josh said bitterly, and Chris flinched at the word _mental_. It was as if Josh were in his head, reading his thoughts, but it had always been like that, hadn’t it…

“Don’t freak out,” Chris said, and Josh rolled his eyes before pulling Chris closer to him. They brought their lips together, and Chris felt his heartbeat picking up pace. Even after all the time they had spent together, his heart still raced at their intimacy.

“Spill your guts,” Josh whispered as they pulled apart, and Chris couldn’t hold back any longer.

“I watched you die…” he whispered, and he closed his eyes. “I got to the sidewalk. You were j-walking, and a cop car came out of nowhere and, it just hit you like _that_.”

He snapped his fingers and paused, holding his breath with his eyes still closed, and when Josh didn’t make a sound, he continued.

“I don’t know what happened. I just reached up my hand. I mean I was seeing you being hit by that car in slow motion. Your bones were being _crushed_ , and… Josh… I turned back time. Thats it… Thats the big fucking reveal. I turned back time and I ran out of class and I saved you.”

Josh’s body tensed around Chris, almost as if he had realized something that pieced together a puzzle he had been working on in his head for a long time. Chris couldn’t bring himself to move, so he just held onto Josh, the palms of his hands warm over Josh’s back as he realized how blessed he was to have this power. Josh would never have to be hurt again if he didn’t want to be. Even now, if he reacted badly to Chris’s news about time travel, Chris could go back and choose not to tell him. Suddenly his eyes felt dry even though they were closed, and he cursed himself for wanting to cry again. When had he gotten so weak? No, that didn’t matter anymore. As long as he could do what he could, no one would ever know what he was holding back, and no one would _ever_ hurt Josh again.

 _I won’t let you die, Josh._ He remembered the feel of desperation tugging at his mind when he first rewound time for Josh, and sighed. _I love you. Fucking hell… I love you._ He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. If he did, he was scared it would feel like he was saying goodbye.

“Chris. Open your eyes. Look at me,” Josh said, and Chris did as he was told. “Now you listen to me… You are the greatest thing that has ever _fucking happened_ to me in my entire shitty life. I’d fucking die for you bro, you know how I feel about you, and I believe you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because,” he said, his voice low in what Chris sensed to be fear. “Hannah…”

“What about Hannah?” Chris asked, scared to hear Josh’s explanation as tension filled the once protective and serene room.

“She had dreams too, Chris,” Josh said, and Chris’s mouth went dry as his stomach dropped. “She had a dream once that you would take me to a field in the stars…”

“Oh my God,” Chris whispered, not believing what he was hearing. “You better not be bullshitting me. Please don’t lie to me.”

“Cross my heart,” Josh said. “I didn’t believe her either… But then you took me there. That field, with the stars… It was real, Chris, it was fucking _real_! I didn’t even realize till the next day that her dream came true.”

“Josh, could she… move time, at all?” Chris asked, and Josh shook his head.

“That was all she told me, but whatever it was that brought the twins to this town, it brought _us_ here too,” Josh said, and Chris couldn’t stop staring into his eyes, their deep brown impossibly dark. “Life is full of strange happenings,” he continued. “And this is _not_ a coincidence.”

He pulled Chris close as he rested his forehead against his, and Chris couldn’t stop trying to work through all that had happened. Hannah had a dream of the future, and it came true. Chris had a dream too, but his was much more destructive, and that girl… She was linked to everything somehow, he knew it.

“Fuck,” Chris whispered, and Josh squeezed his arms around him tighter, hugging him as if it might be the last time he ever held him again, and Chris hugged back eagerly.

He could tell that Josh was holding information back from him, but he couldn’t be upset over it, since he was holding back too. Josh was right, strange happenings were just a part of everyday life, but this was nothing like the life he left behind back home. The old Chris died the moment he saw Josh get hit by that car, and the new Chris… He didn’t know _what_ he was. He was strange. That was it, the new Chris was just strange.


	6. Choose...

**Max - Blackwell Campus. 1:45PM**

Apparently someone had saved a life. The school was alive with a nearly tangible excitement, and Max was surprised to find that it was only partly because of the fire alarm she pulled. Some guy tackled another out of the way of a speeding car, saving him from a messy death, and Max couldn’t help but feel wistful about the whole ordeal.

 _Maybe it was that glasses guy from the dream,_ she thought. _Maybe… He’s not affected by me turning back time? And maybe he saw that other guy get hit by a car. So did I just save two lives? Or is- Ugh, screw it. My head hurts._

She’d been thinking herself into a headache ever since she got outside. By the time she reached the scene of the near death, all the buzz had died down and the two boys had gone. They didn’t even wait for an ambulance, they just walked off to their dorms. She couldn’t help but think about the possibilities. Maybe it _was_ the same boy from her dream. Maybe he _did_ watch someone die and ran to save them. But that would mean he wasn’t affected by her turning back time, and everyone else around her was, so… Again she found her head hurting with theories as she sighed. She took her iPod out of her pocket and thumbed it to life sluggishly. When she put her earbuds in, she blinked a few times before playing with the sleeves of her hoodie between her fingers.

▶  _Scroll. Scroll scroll._  
_To All Of You. Syd Matters._  
_Volume up…  
_ ▐▐ _Play._

And finally guitar was calming the waters of her mind, and she could relax. Music drowned out the word as she looked to her feet. She began walking along the curb in the parking lot, balancing as if it were a tightrope with her arms spread out like wings on either side of her, and she allowed herself to smile. She thought about a lot of things, like the blue haired girl who almost bit the dust, as well as Nathan Prescott. Those dark eyes, they still haunted her, and his apology was almost as surreal as the rewind itself. What a weird thing to happen on a school day. She thought about what would have happened if she decided to walk to her dorm rather than the girls bathroom, or if she got to the bathroom a minute later than she had, or if she started talking to the boy from her dream… She shook her head, wiggling the thoughts loose till they fell out of her mind. Things were too complicated now.

 _Driving a car by the seaside…_ she hummed, taking comfort in the song playing in her ears. _Watching the world from the bright side._

And she wished she could. Watch everything from the bright side. How beautiful her life would be if she could only do that one small thing. She'd seen such amazing and natural things in her life, gone to great places and met such kind people, but something in the back of her mind kept her from living in those moments for too long, and she didn't know why. But at least she had her camera, it helped her see past the dark parts of her world, and absentmindedly she ran a hand along her satchel, thankful for its weight. 

She was waiting for Warren as they agreed to meet in the parking lot. He was the first person she thought to text after pulling the fire alarm and giving the blue haired girl a chance to escape. When she realized that the boy from her dream had come out of Warren’s class, she knew she had to ask him about the guy. Plus, Warren was the biggest nerd she had ever met, a bonus when you discover that you can time travel and have some major questions about science stuff.

 _But what a totally weird coincidence,_ Max thought to herself, her iPod still smoothing out the wrinkles in her mind. _Glasses guy and Warren in the same class? Get out of here…_ She turned and paced back down the curb, kids walking to their cars ignoring her as she waited.

 _Where the hell are you Warren?_ she thought, and just then someone poked one of her shoulders, making her lose balance and step off the curb.

She turned back, seeing that Warren was the one who nudged her, and let out a playful sigh as she took out her earbuds.

“I’ve been balancing on that thing for five minutes straight,” she said. “I was going for a record.”

“Oops,” Warren chuckled. “Guess I’ll have to make it up to you.”

“You can start by hearing me out. I’ve got a wild story, but, I don’t really know where to start.”

“The beginning tends to be the best place to start with _any_ story,” Warren smiled, and Max couldn’t help but reciprocate as she thanked God for Warrens eternally cheerful disposition.

“Okay, well-”

“Hey!” a boy shouted, cutting Max off mid thought as both her and Warren turned to look back up at their school.

Nathan was marching toward them, eyes trained on Max, and her heart stopped as her eyes widened. He looked angry, but above all else, confused, his lips set in a deep frown and his eyebrows stitched together in frustration. Max took a step back without thinking, and instantly Warren stepped forward and in front of her. _Oh crap, Scared Max equals Protective Warren. Fuck. What if they fight?_ Nathan kept moving, not slowing down or paying any attention to Warren as he came closer to Max with his eyes still trained on hers past Warren’s shoulder.

“What do you want, _Nathan_ ,” Warren hissed, already sounding angry.

“Max,” he sneered, and she flinched, but Warren stood his ground. “I _know_ what you did!”

“ _What?_ ” Max squeaked. Was he talking about her rewind? No, that was impossible. He must have been mistaken. He must have been mad at someone else. Someone who looked like her. That had to be it. He couldn’t have known what she did, unless he saw her… But she knew that was impossible. She was _so_ damn careful and she didn't even get the chance to tell anyone yet!

“Don’t play games with me, Caulfield,” Nathan growled, and he finally reached them, going to move past Warren and grab Max, but Warren got in front of him and pushed him back hard.

“What are you doing?” Warren said, his tone angry and Max couldn’t help but back up as Nathan regained his composure and advanced on him again.

“This is none of your _goddamn business_ science freak!” Nathan yelled, and he moved to go around Warren, but again the boy was in his way, so he reared back and punched him in the side of the head, the smack of his knuckles against Warren’s ear a sick thud that made Max jump.

“Warren!” she yelled, and she moved forward as he staggered to the side before regaining his balance and turning back around. Without warning he threw a fist out, punching Nathan hard across his face with a grunt.

Max gasped as Nathan was thrown off balance and fell sideways, barely protecting himself as he hit the pavement of the parking lot.

“Wait!” Max yelled as Warren started toward Nathan, his features mashed in with anger as he went to kick him. But before he could, Max was at his side, pulling on his shoulder so he wouldn’t hurt Nathan.

“He’s down,” Max said, pleading for the fighting to stop. “Let’s go, okay?”

“He was after you!” Warren yelled, and Max wrapped both her arms around one of Warrens, not wanting to let go in case he went after Nathan again.

“Lets just go. Please, before he gets up,” she begged, and Warren let out a loud huff of air as he nodded his head, turning back to look at Nathan who was just finding the will to stand as he cupped the right side of his face with one hand.

“D-don’t move!” Nathan yelled. “I’ve got shit to say to you!”

“She’s coming with me,” Warren said, already sounding calmer but ten times more demanding, his fury abated but his will to protect still a force to be reckoned with.

“I know I shot her,” Nathan spat, and he looked into Max’s eyes. As if she had used her power, the world began to blur. For a split second, she didn't understand what he said. He knew he shot her. Shot who? But then it all came flooding back. 

“What did you just say?” she asked, but she already knew what he meant, she just refused to believe it.

“I know I shot that punk _bitch_. Alright?” he said, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence as he finally stood and glared at Warren. All his attention was on the boy who hit him to the ground, and just as Max processed what Nathan had said, the roar of a truck engine made her jump as she turned around.

A rusted beige pick-up truck was barreling through the parking lot, narrowly missing a few awkwardly parked cars as its driver yanked the wheel to one side, aiming the truck directly at Nathan, Warren, and Max. Before any of them could react the car veered to the left toward Nathan, and then screeched to a halt right before it could hit him, and in shock Nathan nearly fell backward as he tried to jump out of the way.

“Whoa!” the driver yelled, and Max finally got a good look at her. She had short hair that was dyed blue and wore a skull tank top under her thin leather jacket. They made eye contact and the blue haired girl’s jaw dropped. “Max?”

“Wait. Chloe?” Max gasped, wide eyed and stunned as she finally came to recognize who the blue haired girl was. The girl who drove the truck. The punk teenager with the skull tank top and ripped pants, it was her best friend growing up, but she hadn’t seen her in nearly five years. She looked so different. So grown up, and _so_ much more dangerous.

“Get in!” Chloe yelled, and suddenly, Max felt torn. Nathan knew something that she desperately wanted to understand, but seeing Chloe again was an encounter she couldn’t pass up.

“Hold the fuck up,” Nathan called, taking a step back from the car as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his red jacket. “You _know_ you have to hear what I've got to say!” He scowled hard at Max, pouting like a child, and Max’s heart ached for him. What was going on in his head?

“Max, get a move on! Lets _go_!” Chloe yelled, and Max looked back to her, the junk on the dashboard of her truck reminding her of all the messes the two of them made as kids. Chloe was a blast from the past. She was a well of potential since without her Max would never have discovered her rewind powers, but what was Nathan other than the same thing? He was there too, the one who shot Chloe, and without him Max wouldn’t have found the will to rewind.

“Well?” Nathan snapped impatiently as he stepped away from Chloe’s truck and closer to his own. “What’s it gonna be Caulfield?”

Max looked between the two, Chloe and Nathan, an eternal bad-ass and a boy who brought a _gun_ to school. If she could, she’d let someone else decide for her… Nathan was like a fire. Mystifying and intriguing from far away, but dangerous up close, but so was Chloe from the looks of her… This wasn’t an easy choice, but she had to do _something_.

 _Choose, dammit. Choose!_  She yelled at herself, willing herself to make a move, until finally, it worked.

“Alright!” she sighed in exasperation, looking to her feet and then over to Warren as she started to move. “I’m so sorry… But I’ve got to see-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus... Our first choice comes into view! Nathan, or Chloe? Continue to Chapter 7 if you chose Nathan. Skip to Chapter 9 if you chose Chloe. 
> 
> Final Note: Choosing between Nathan and Chloe will lead to very different things, but mainly affect your ending in a serious way. And trust me, shipping things are bound to happen.


	7. She Chose Nathan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHOS BACK NERDS! My face is better after the wisdom teeth hell surgery and my week of torment thanks to school midterm exams is over! Welcome to the weekend! :) Thanks for your patience if you've been keeping up with this story! I can't believe how long its been since I've written! And if you're into Until Dawn/videogame stuff then heres my tumblr if you wanna chat/see whats up at dawns-inquisitor :) it feels so good to be back in this story!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter is the one in which Max chooses to go with Nathan, and it ended up being pretty long! I'll post the next chapter with what happens because of this choice soon, then the after that I'll post the chapter in which she chooses Chloe over Nathan (Sorry for the delay Pricefield fans, but I've made up my mind!) So FINALLY after such a long break, here we go :)

**Max - Blackwell Campus. 1:53PM**

-Nathan,” she said, and she took a step toward him.

“Yo! What?” Chloe yelled, and Warren was quick to grab Max’s wrist before she could catch up to Nathan as he marched toward his car.

“Max are you crazy?” Warren huffed, and she shook her arm free as she turned from him.

“I have to hear him out,” she said over her shoulder, and she reached Nathan’s car just as he climbed inside.

“Jesus Max! That guy is _not_ someone you want to be around!” Chloe yelled, her body halfway out her car window as she waved her old friend down, but Max had already made her choice. She chose Nathan.

“Warren,” Max said, calling to him as she opened the passenger sides door. “I promise I’ll tell you everything soon, okay? And you too Chloe! Please understand, I… I just _have_ to do this.”

Warren didn’t respond, but he nodded his head slowly as his jaw clenched. _Yikes_. He seemed angry, but Chloe on the other hand looked beyond pissed.

“Max!” she yelled. “Seriously man! Its been _ages_ and you’re teaming up with _Prescott_?”

“No it’s not like that I swear! Y-you’ll understand later, Okay? I’ll call you!”

“Yeah _right_ , like you did when you moved away,” Chloe grunted, and she ducked back into her car. Max bit her lip. Guilt gripped her stomach and twisted as she looked at Chloe, but what other choice did she have?

“Get in,” Nathan ordered, and Max didn’t hesitate to do as she was told, turning to the car as she climbed inside and sat, slamming the door closed behind her as she tried to get comfortable.

In a flash Nathan pushed the gearstick back and the car jolted forward. Max had to catch herself with her palms as Nathan shifted gears again, and awkwardly the car committed to falling in reverse.

 _Jeez!_ Max thought. _Maybe I should rewind and make him choose the right gear._ And at her thoughts her right hand ached, so she didn’t dare try it.

Nathan backed out like a mad man, not even looking behind him as he swerved out of his parking spot between two cars and turned the wheel hard to one side.

“Hey what’s the rush?” Max gasped, never having been in a car where the driver seemed to have no regard for his own life.

“You’ll find out! God, just, _chillax_ Max,” he snapped, and in seconds they were out of the parking lot, swerving onto the road as the car’s wheels squeaked against the pavement.

“Maybe I was crazy for getting in this car,” Max said, and she didn’t mean for the words to come out, but something forced them out of her mind and into the open. Part of her wanted Nathan to know she was scared, while the other wanted to be seen as nothing more than a fearsome girl who shouldn’t be messed with. But who was she kidding? She knew she wasn’t brave. She just had to have faith in Nathan and the universe. She had to have faith that she made the right choice, and that she wouldn’t _die_ in an accident.

As Nathan settled into the road, falling to a reasonable speed - even though he was still going at least twelve over the limit - Max let herself breathe. The car was clean, and though it wasn’t too overpowering, the space smelled of smoke, and of course, she could smell a hint of weed.

 _Gross,_ she thought. _Thats the last thing I need. Weed. What if it messes with my powers? But… I really don’t know how drugs work so…_ She relaxed further as Nathan glanced at the car’s radio, eying the panel as he thought over his next move, and with one finger he poked a square button, and music started playing. _Double yikes! Max thought. Is this what Nathan listens to? Ugh, how fitting… Dark… Like his soul._

She smiled a little at her thoughts. On the inside, she found she really was quite dramatic, but so was Nathan’s choice in music. It was trying too hard, typical for electronic dubstep-ish music with strong rhythmic beats. Nathan pinched the volume wheel and turned it hard to the right, and his deep and dark song began pounding the inside of the car, and Max resisted the urge to cover her ears.

“Where are we going?” she yelled, and as if her voice startled him Nathan jumped in his seat, and the car swerved to the right slightly before he found the road again.

“Christ! Settle _down_ would you? God! You talk way too damn much!” Nathan barked, and he kicked the gas pedal, sending the car jolting forward as he drove around a car that he must have thought was driving too slow.

“I haven’t even said more than four sentences to you,” Max said, proud of herself for sounding annoyed even though she was a bit scared, and Nathan scoffed.

“Yeah, _right_ ,” he murmured, barely audible over the total Vortex club party song, and Max gave him a look.

“What do you mean _yeah right_?”

“Nothing. Just crazy talk,” he snapped dismissively, and Max settled back into her seat as she reached back and pulled her seat belt into place with a click.

 _If you die Max, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself, dumbo,_ she said, taunting herself inwardly and making herself feel worse about the whole situation. But then she remembered her reason for getting in the car. Nathan knew something! Was he connected to her newfound power? She had to ask, what was she waiting for?

“ _Nathan…_ ” she whispered, and then she cleared her throat. “Nathan!” There. That came out much louder, and the boy took his eyes off the road as he glanced at her. His scowl was castigating. What was his problem?

“ _What_?” he said, almost as if he didn’t know how deeply every word he said confused her.

“Well… Um. I’m serious! okay? Where are we going? And Secondly… What do you mean you remember _shooting_ her?”

Nathan paused, drumming his thumbs to the beat of the song against the steering wheel. She realized then that Nathan never really stopped moving. It was if he were always afraid. Nervous that something might come at him, or that he’d have to jump into action and fight at any moment. His hands… They were always jittery.

He then rolled down his window, pressing down on a button to his left. Wind rushed into the car, making Max’s hair whip around face, and she thought of her hurricane dream.

“I’ve got a lot of fucked up shit going on in my head,” he said, his tone whiney like a pouting child, and it almost made Max roll her eyes. Nathan’s Vortex song kept blaring, the thing was distracting, and the bass made her bones ache.

She knew he had problems, she heard rumours about him and all the drugs he had to take for whatever mental reasons, so she decided to go easy on him for now. He’d tell her what she wanted to know eventually. And besides, she had all the time in the world… But more than anything she wished Nathan would turn down his music. 

“You could have just used your words,” she sighed, awkwardly hugging her arms around her middle. “You didn’t have to hit Warren.”

Nathan responded with a grunt of disapproval. “Not even worth my breath!” he exclaimed, and Max shook her head.

“This is why you’ve got so many enemies.”

“How would _you_ know I got enemies? You sure of that?”

“Actually, yes. I am pretty damn sure.”

“Well aren’t you a smart little shit, huh, _Mad Max_.”

“Wow… You’re _really_ making me regret getting in this car, Nathan,” she murmured angrily, tightening her hold on her hoodie as she looked out the window. Orange tree’s passed her by along the sidewalk, and beyond them, houses, small and homely like most things in Arcadia Bay, but that was what she loved about the town. It was small and humble, sort of like her in a way, or at least she told herself that, but through all her nostalgia the natural world still felt dampened by the sick vibes coming from Nathan’s song. She couldn’t take it anymore, she had to ask him about the music.

“What’s this song called, anyway?” she asked, trying her best to sound bitter, but her genuine interest in all things music made her voice sound a little too clear of hatred _. Dammit… Wish I could hate him without being nice._

“Black by The M Machine. What! It make you wanna get high?” he said with a smirk, and Max frowned as she looked back out the window as they drove past an elementary school. The song was blasting through Nathan’s car, and a few teachers gave them looks as they turned kids away from the rowdy teenagers that drove past, and Max sighed.

“You _wish_ it made me want to do anything like that… And, whatever. This song, its… It’s really _crappy_!” Max said, and she bit her lip. _Really? ‘Crappy?’ Thats the best you could come up with? Who are you kidding Max. That wouldn’t even hurt a three year olds feelings._

“Ouch! Good one weirdo,” Nathan smirked, and Max fought against the urge to roll her eyes at him.

“Well what is it you want? You said you knew what I did, but I don’t get what you’re t-talking about.”

“Oh don’t be _stupid_ Max. You wouldn’t have gotten in this car if you didn’t know I knew something important about you.”

“Well lets just say I did then… Um… What would you want to talk about? I’m serious. I’ll get out of this car and walk back to school unless you start talking. And _Jesus_ can you turn that stuff down?”

“Nice try kiddo, but _I’m_ in control right now.”

 _Like you were in control in the bathroom?_ Max wanted to say, but she wouldn’t dare, so she settled for a slight sigh as she sank lower into the shockingly comfortable leather seat of Nathan’s car. She looked out the window again, and nearly jumped as she saw her school maintenance man staring back at her, his body completely still as he stood on the sidewalk, head moving smoothly to the side as his eyes locked with hers and they drove past. For some reason, the song that Nathan was playing felt more welcoming than the look in Samuel’s eyes… It was as if he were a ghost.

“Samuel?” Max stuttered in disbelief. She had never seen the custodian off Blackwell property before. What was he doing?

“What about him?” Nathan asked, and Max shook her head.

“We just drove past… Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

“If I tell you this, you have to promise not to completely fuckin’ flip shit,” Nathan hissed, angry again for some reason, and Max gave him a look as she bunched her eyebrows together. He switched between thoughts so quickly, it was unsettling.

His fingers flexed and relaxed against the steering wheel a few times before Max responded.

“Shoot,” she said, meaning for him to tell her what was on his mind, and instantly she regretted her choice in words. “O-oh w-wow! I. Um. I mean, like, _don’t_ shoot but like-”

“Ha!” Nathan laughed, and it sounded like the boom of a cannon. “Nice one! You know you could just rewind and never fuck up your words like that, right?”

“Rewind?” Max repeated, and all the air in her lungs got solid and dense, and she froze up. When Nathan spoke next his tone was different again. This time, he sounded hurt.

“I know a lot of stuff about a lot of people,” Nathan said quietly, each word sounding like it pained him. She could barely hear him over the song, and though she hesitated, she slow reached for the volume control knob and turned it slightly to the left. Nathan didn’t seem to mind.

“Know a lot of stuff, like what?” she asked, and Nathan let out a huff of air through his nose.

“I see things, sometimes, it’s hard to explain.”

“Nathan. No matter _what_ , I’ll believe you. Trust me.”

“I’m _insane_ ,” he chuckled, and a moment later the chuckle became a deep giggle, and that giggle grew into a hysterical fit of laughter before he suddenly relaxed. The whole thing creeped Max out, but she couldn’t look away from him. “Either that or I’m a _freak_. Just like you I guess!”

“What do you _mean_ Nathan? You can tell me! How many times do I have to reassure you? I know we don’t know each other, but I’m going through something… Strange, too.”

“But we _do_ know each other,” he said, and his voice softened. “I see you. All the time. All the _fucking_ time.”

“Like… At school?”

“No, asshat… Like, in the future.”

“Oh,” Max said, and no other word could sum up the feelings going through her system.

Nathan fell silent, and his song ended. Black, it was called. How eery, but the next song was worse. Not because it was heavy on the beats, but because it was shockingly mellow and soft… How unlike Nathan, and Max looked to the small rectangular screen built into the car next to the steering wheel. She hadn’t noticed it before, but it showed the name of the song playing. It was called L$D.

_Should have known._

“I had a dream that I’d shoot that girl, and that you’d rewind time,” he said, his voice so clear of anger that it almost made Max emotional, but she didn’t know why. It sounded like he’d rehearsed the line a hundred times, because he sounded bored as he spoke it. But it didn’t make sense. It was all… Impossible. Nathan couldn’t see the future. Max couldn’t rewind time. It was all fucking impossible.

A voice began singing over the sound system. It was hypnotic, just like Nathan… The voice sang about dreams, drugs, and hypnotic charm. _Ugh… I hate boys._ Max thought. _And same with this weird song._

“There are things I can’t tell you-” he continued, and Max looked to him. He didn’t look back. His eyes were on the road. “-because if I do, it may mess up my vision.”

“Okay,” she said, but never in her life had she felt her hands shake the way they were. “Okay… I believe you.”

“You do?”

“Yes Nathan. I do. You aren’t alone.”

“I thought you’d say that,” he said, and his face set into a deep and tired frown.

But just like that, the world was softer then it had been before. The ugly feelings that came with being close to Nathan were dissipating, leaving pure ones behind as they left her mind, blowing out of the car as Nathan’s open window sent gusts of wind through her hair. She nearly felt at peace, but an ache in her right hand brought her back to the present, and she remembered how creepy Samuel looked as they drove past him.

“You thought I’d say that,” she said, and Nathan looked to her quickly before going back to the road. “Like you’d already seen this whole conversation… In a dream.”

“Exactly like that,” he croaked, his voice cracking, and he cleared his throat. Max could tell he smoked too much.

“And for the record,” she continued, happy that the song Nathan had on wasn’t as violent as the last. “This song…”

“What about it?”

“It’s _garbage._ ”

Nathan smiled, and all Max could do was stare. She hadn’t seen him look like that. Smiling. Genuine and free of whatever it was that constantly hurt him. It was almost unnatural, and the fact that a smile on his face seemed awkward made her feel incredibly and undeniably sad. Maybe Nathan wasn’t such a demon, but then again, he did shoot someone.

And he hummed along to the song, his voice going lower than she thought it could, and as it ended, Max looked back out the window.

* * *

One left turn, and Max knew where they were headed. Nathan began driving slower, following road signs as they told him to adjust his speed, and Max found herself genuinely relaxed as she rested her head against the window closest to her.

“Are we going to the lighthouse?” she asked, and Nathan nodded his head, taking another right as he began driving away from town and into a lightly forested area.

“You know, I had a really weird dream about this place,” Max sighed, and she counted the pine trees they drove under, their green needles quivering in a gentle breeze, and she smiled.

“Me too,” Nathan said, and Max felt a chill run up her spine.

“Was it of a hurricane?”

“No. You’ll see,” he said, and Max breathed out a sigh of relief before considering to question what Nathan was talking about. But like he said, she would see. And finally they came to the base of the hillside, and a distance away, far up a path that twisted through the forest, Max could see the lighthouse.

They left the car, Max taking her satchel in case she wanted to take a photo, and they started up the trial, Nathan leading her up the path with his hands in his pockets as he marched forward. It was a warm day, considering the fact that it was still October, and Max let herself bask in the calm waters of her mind as she took in all that she had learned over the past few hours. Nathan was some sort of psychic, and Max was a time guru or something. Another kid was in her hurricane dream, and he turned out to be a real person. _Too wild,_ she thought to herself, watching Nathan’s back as he effortlessly walked the path, not stumbling over tree roots as she was. _I sort of miss my parents, I wish I could tell them about all this._

And the kept walking, neither talking as they felt themselves ease into the nature around them. Max looked up the trail as they reached the section of path she woke up on during her hurricane dream, and she shivered. There was such genuine horror in that moment, and the blond glasses guy looked like a mess. Where did he wake up in the forest? It sucked that he didn’t wake up on the path like she had, but at least he wasn’t seriously hurt. And that was another thing on her list. She needed to track that guy down, after juicing Nathan for information of course.

* * *

By the time they reached the base of the lighthouse the sun was raining down hot beams of light, warming the earth and tempting Max to take off her hoodie. She didn’t, though. She felt that if she did, she would be vulnerable around Nathan, even though she wasn’t sure what her mixed instincts were telling her about him.

Nathan unzipped his jacket as he came to stand in front of the bench that looked out over the cliff the lighthouse was built on. Underneath the jacket he was wearing a plain white t-shirt, vibrantly void of colour, and the sun shone off it giving him an eye aching glow. He let his jacket drape over his shoulders, and Max took a small step back as Nathan let out a deep sigh and he slouched forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked to the ground between his feet.

“I need a God damn cigarette,” he groaned, and Max shook her head.

“Did you bring any?”

“If I did, you’d know.”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” she said, feeling stupid as Nathan continued to stare at the ground between his feet. She looked Nathan over and realized just how thin he was. His bare arms were pale compared to the skin of his face. He must have warn that jacket a lot. But before anything else, Nathan truly was a nice person to look at. Max didn’t want to think of the other word she could have used instead of ‘nice’. She didn’t want to think of him as someone who was hot, for lack of a better word, but she couldn’t deny that she did enjoy his features.

 _Alright Mrs. Dramatic. Just say it. He’s sort of cute._ She laughed and sighed inwardly all at the same time, and she took a step toward the bench.

“I’ve got this tremble,” he said, and Max stopped moving, resting one hand on the back of the bench as Nathan continued. “M-my hands shake. It’s fucked up, I can’t stop moving them. You know?”

She had realized that. He always kept his thumbs drumming against the steering wheel as he drove, and his hands flexed every so often.

Though she hesitated, Max brought herself to sit next to him.

“I… Didn’t notice it.”

“You’re a shitty liar, Max,” Nathan laughed, the thing an awkward rasp from smoking too much, and he cleared his throat.

“But the weirdest thing is happening,” he said, and Max nearly rolled her eyes.

“Other than this entire escapade?”

“When you get near me. Like, close. The tremble. It goes away,” he said, and he was smiling, only slightly, but it was a dramatic difference compared to his usual scowl. It was genuine, nothing awkward or manipulative about it this time, and Max watched him from her spot next to him with gently parted lips as she took in his image.

“What you gawking at, Caulfield?” he snapped, but it wasn’t as harsh as he must have wanted it to be, and he still wasn’t looking her in the eyes, his gaze focused on some pinprick in the distance as he lifted his head and stared off at the horizon.

“Nathan,” she said, and she scooted herself over a little, just so she could be the smallest bit closer to him as she spoke. “You know… An hour ago, I would have told anyone who said that I’d be spending more then _three seconds_ alone with Nathan Prescott that they're crazy.”

“I’d say the same thing if I were you.”

“But… I don’t see it that way now.”

“ _Why_? Because we’re homeboys now? We’re gonna start making friendship bracelets and all that shit? Yeah. Sure.”

“Why are you always so bitter?”

“Not enough fucking sugar in my morning coffee,” Nathan groaned, and he leaned to one side as he spat on the ground.

For a moment Max was stunned into silence. _Did… Did Nathan Prescott just make a joke? And I joke that I find sort of funny no less? Oh my God. Mark the date. He so did. Busted! I knew he had a sense of humour…_

“You’re so busted,” Max murmured, smirking as she edged closer to Nathan the smallest bit again, and she nudged him with her shoulder.

“Ouch! Hey watch it! This jacket is worth more than your life! And busted for what?”

“You think you’re such a hard-ass, but, I don’t know… I just think you need to, maybe open yourself up more. Trust more people. Life won’t be as shitty, I promise. ”

“Coming from Ms. Social herself,” Nathan murmured, and he hung his head again as he leaned to his left and nudged Max back with his shoulder. It was almost playful, but he looked too downcast. “Anytime I tell people stuff about me, the real stuff about me, they flip and run.”

“You’ve got _tons_ of friends at Blackwell,” Max said, contemplating on whether to put a comforting hand on Nathan’s shoulder or not. She chose not to. “And, besides… You have Victoria.”

“I have Victoria,” he repeated, almost as if he were testing the words for their validity. “That’s true. She’s… She’s my only real friend. But, _fuck_. I can’t talk about any of this psycho mind shit with anyone. I take all this shit to help with my head, to help me focus and listen and ignore those damn _dreams_. But I’m. Oh Christ… What if I’m insane?”

“You aren’t insane… I’ve proved that you aren’t, just by being around, right? Because I rewound time. I proved your vision.”

“But I can’t trust that,” he said. “I don’t know what I believe and what I don’t. I don’t know if I’m dreaming or awake half the time. Everything just feels like one big psychic hellhole vision, like the future and _now_ are the same thing, but I’m the only one who sees it that way… It fucking sucks.”

“Okay… Back to your dreams,” Max said, feeling horrible for her curiosity as Nathan was clearly hurting, but she had to know more. “It’s true, okay? I… I rewound time and saved Chloe, that girl with blue hair… But I was only able to after you shot her.”

“I know,” he said. “I knew you’d turn back time, because I’d dreamt of that moment for Goddamn _months_.”

“Oh man,” Max sighed, taking in what Nathan had said. “I just can’t imagine having that much faith in a dream.”

“It’s like I already know you,” he said, sounding as if he almost didn’t believe his own words, and again Max was surprised at how quickly he switched between topics. “I can’t deny that shit anymore. I see you all the time, ever since I was little. Sleeping isn’t really sleeping… I’m always seeing.”

“You’ve had visions of _me_ for that long? But… I just… So you shot Chloe… You did it on purpose. You knew I would rewind time? You were that sure?”

“N-no. I wasn’t, but. I had to just… completely _fuck_ all my second guessing. A-all my dreams come true,” he stuttered, and Max sat back against the bench as she looked out over the sea. Seagulls called to one another as they flew overhead. The smell of pine and cedar trees mixing with sun and sea, it was all so vibrant in that moment, as if God were telling her that she was exactly where she needed to be.

“Holy shit,” she breathed, and Nathan sighed.

“It has to be this way. It _has_ to be this way.”

“Nathan,” Max said, keeping her eyes on the horizon as she thought. “What you did-”

“I know, it _disgusts_ you. Well you aren’t the only one I’ve freaked out with this mind shit.”

“Thats not what I was going to say,” Max said sternly, her voice rising a little more than she wanted it to, but she couldn’t help it. “I was going to say that it was… Really selfless. A risk, but still selfless… I can’t imagine knowing what you know, Nathan. I’m sorry.”

“For _what_?” he snapped. “Sorry that I got fucked over by the universe? Yeah. Me too.”

“Well, at least we’re in this together,” Max said, looking to her lap as she twisted her fingers together, and Nathan gave her a quick glance before looking off into the distance again.

“Everyone treats me… Like I’m a spoiled little shit who’s nothing but trouble, so why would I ever try to act like anything else right?”

“I never thought of it that way,” Max admitted, and Nathan frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“Nobody does. It’s okay.”

“Well like I said, you’ve got me now too, right?” and a cold wind suddenly blew across her skin, wiggling through her zip-up hoodie and making her shiver.

“Whoa,” she said. “You feel that?”

“Snow,” Nathan said, and Max squinted at him.

“Snow?”

“Yes. Snow,” he repeated, and he looked up to the sky.

Max followed his gaze and turned her head, looking up toward the sky that was painted with vivid blues and oranges. Not a cloud in sight, but a ways away she could see white specks dancing in a breeze.

“No freaking way,” she breathed, and Nathan looked down from the sky and directly at her, but Max kept her eyes on the possibility of snow.

“I saw it already,” Nathan said, still staring at Max as she watched the sky. “In a dream. That was my dream of this place. What was yours?”

“Hurricane,” she said.

“Hurricane?”

“Yes. Hurricane,” she repeated, and she gave Nathan a knowing look as she let herself smile, not allowing her teeth to show, but still, smiling.

“Take out your iPod,” Nathan ordered, and sighing as she found her satchel on the ground beside her, she reached inside and pulled out what Nathan had asked for.

“To All Of You was the last song you listened to,” Nathan said, and Max pursed her lips as she looked to her iPod.

“Whoa,” she gasped, and she pressed the on button as she remembered that Nathan was right. “Yeah. I was.”

“Obstacles,” Nathan said, and Max gave him a confused look.

“What?”

“Put your iPod on shuffle and skip to the next song. Play it out loud.”

“Okay…” she said, her voice trailing off as she looked to the iPod and pressed shuffle. She skipped over the last parts of To All Of You, and the next song that came on, out of the hundreds she had, was Obstacles by Syd Matters.

“Holy _shit_ ,” she breathed, and gentle guitar lit up her whole experience with Nathan, and the snow falling from the sky finally reached the ground as it showered their moment in crystal flakes of cold.

“Want to know what happens next?”

“Totally,” Max whispered, looking up to the sky as the song continued, and never before had she felt so mystified by the wonder that was her life.

Nathan put his arm around her shoulder, and Max flinched, but when she looked over at Nathan she saw that he was looking off over the water, snow gathering in his hair as pulled her in closer.

“We sit for a few moments,” he said. “We think about superpowers and snow and stuff. And then…”

“Then what?” Max asked, a knot in her stomach only dulled by the warmth of Nathan’s arm around her shoulder and the cold of snow against her cheeks.

“And then we kiss. I think,” he said matter-of-factly, and before Max could think over his words, Nathan turned to face her and pressed his lips to hers.

It was a warm kiss… His lips were soft.

His arm flexed and pulled her closer.

And then, he was pulling away. They opened their eyes and as Max looked into Nathan’s, she swore she could see stars dancing in his pupils. It looked like a small, hidden painting of a galaxy. His eyes were deep, but not dark like they were when he shot Chloe… His eyes were breathtaking.

“I hadn’t heard this song till I dreamed of you playing it for me,” he said, and Max leaned away from him a small bit.

“You… You aren’t swearing as much,” she said. It was the only thing she could think to say. She didn’t know how it felt to have Nathan kiss her. Did she hate him for surprising her with it? Or… was it… one of the most surreal and perfect moments of her entire life…

She couldn’t tell, but almost all parts of her knew, no matter how badly she wished otherwise, that Nathan Prescott made her feel incredibly strong. He dealt with universal power, and lived to this moment, already knowing that it would come to pass. If he survived then she would too, and she smiled as she closed her eyes and leaned into him. Without question Nathan tightened his hold on her as she rested her head against his shoulder, and he let his head rest on hers.

They stared off into the world, Arcadia Bay a small ant hill from their spot on the hill, and Max could feel Nathan’s heartbeat against her body. He was nervous, the thing was going crazy, and she realized that hers was doing the same gymnastics routine.

“I’m not swearing as much, huh?” Nathan sighed, the arm he had around Max feeling like a protective wing. “I don’t know. You’re weird. It makes me weird.”

“Not swearing is weird?”

“For me? Fuck yeah.”

“But dreams of the future aren’t?” Max said, and she giggled. Giggled! Had she ever made a girly noise like that before? Maybe a few times around Chloe, but other than that, probably not.

“Well,” Nathan said. “I’ve seen a lot of shit in dreams. And If I tell people things that happen before they get the chance to, the dream changes.”

“Thats how it works?”

“You could say its like playing hide and seek in waterfalls…” Nathan said, his voice a near whisper, and as he finished his sentence, Max’s iPod sang the same words.

_We played hide and seek in waterfalls._

They would play dangerous games. She understood the connection between her understanding of the current situation and the song on her iPod… Nathan could foresee obstacles, and hopefully, whatever strange happening was taking over the universe would leave the two of them alone, even though Max could feel that they had some specific roles to play. And after all she had learned, she realized she had more questions now than she did when she started. Nathan was too cryptic, and her situation needed specific answers in order to be solved. But... she had kissed him. Maybe the rest didn't matter.

“Don’t abandon me,” Nathan whispered, his voice bringing Max out of her head as she noticed his heartbeat pick up pace again, and she rested a hand over the one he had on his knee.

“I won’t, Nathan,” she said, and she squeezed his hand as the song ended. “We’ll get through whatever is coming together. We’ll get through the blizzard… Together.”


	8. She Chose Nathan - Side Consequence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Side effects of choosing Nathan. Everything happens for a reason...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have it, another update! As usual I've been getting my ass kicked by school, but I'm still fighting the good fight. And get ready Pricefield fans because that choice's chapter is coming up next!

**Chloe - N/A. 2:47PM**

As she parked her truck the anger came back, bubbling and hot in her stomach and making her mouth twist into a scowl.

“Fuck you too, Max,” she growled, and it felt damn good to curse the girl out loud. What did Nathan have to say that could be so important? Chloe was Max’s best friend, even though they hadn’t made contact in five years, but that didn’t matter. For Chloe, Max was still very much a part of her, rooted deep in all her best memories. She was the part of her that still felt some kind of innocence, the part that knew what it felt like to have William alive.

And then came thoughts of her father, and the anger grew even bigger.

“Fuck you too, _dad_!” she yelled, and she hit her palms against the steering wheel, making the horn beep before she undid her seat belt and dug around in her pockets. She needed a cigarette, and _badly_. She was tired, but then she realized that she didn’t have time for hate, it took up too much energy, so instead she decided to try and let it all out. She would deal with Max later. She knew where to find her now.

“God damn,” Chloe grumbled. “Get a fucking grip, Chloe.”

She leaned against her truck door and jerked the handle, the thing got stuck sometimes, totally a safety hazard, but it added to the grungy charm of the thing. She named the truck Carmon, and it had never fucked her over like her  _best friend_  had. Again she thought of Max and her abandonment, and more anger sparked in her gut.

“Fuck,” Chloe hissed, and finally she got the door open, swinging both legs outside Cameron and jumping to the ground. With a backward kick she closed the door, whipping out a lighter that was nearly out of fluid, but with a few rough swipes of her thumb it clicked to life as she brought a cigarette to her lips and sucked in the flame.

She instantly felt a small amount of relief fill in the gaps between her heart and body as she drew heat into her lungs. The burn of the cigarette, and the atmosphere of autumn, it was a good thing, and she needed more good things after the total emotional ass-kicking she got from Max’s choice to go with Nathan over her. She had driven to a small park close to Blackwell, a place she remembered fondly. She looked to the swings, the things swaying in a warm breeze, and remembered pushing Max as hard as she could so she could touch the sky... How naive were they? So childish, full of hope and all that bullshit… It seemed so far off now.

“R.I.P. To the dynamic duo,” Chloe murmured, bowing dramatically as she saluted the park, and she looked from the swing set at one end to the large dark green slide of the other, and sighed. She brought the cigarette back to her lips and pulled in another draft of smoke. She held it in, feeling the clouds settle in her chest, and blew out hard. It felt soothing in her throat, and turning back to her truck, she leaned against it, looking out to the street opposite the park. The memories it held hurt too much, so she couldn’t look at it too deeply. Everything hurt. _Everything._

“How un-righteous,” she murmured, and as she spoke, a smile pulled at her cheeks. And she didn’t suppress it, because that word, _righteous,_ it reminded her of a new friend she had made.

Joshua Washington. _What a stuck up sounding name,_ she thought,  _its the name of an asshole_.

He was new in town, but that was a good thing. It meant he didn’t know how totally insane she was, even though by now he probably had a good idea, and Chloe smiled as she remembered how they’d first met.

It was at a dingy looking supermarket, one of the three that Arcadia Bay had to offer, both of them taping missing persons posters to the brick walls on it’s side. And right then they knew the had something in common. They were around the same age, and they were both looking for someone. As they talked, the more they realized they appreciated the others style. It was friendship at first sight, a rare happening in Chloe’s life, but Josh seemed the type to be friends with everyone he met. They both loved the spontaneity of the whole meeting and introduction. They both smoked. They both cared too deeply about those who were probably dead. They both adored loud music and hated conventionality with a passion. What more could the universe have thrown into their personalities to have them be more similar? Not much, really, and when Josh took a photo of her standing on the hood of her truck, smoke billowing from her parted lips and clouding parts of her face, she knew that he reminded her of Max. She accepted him, understanding that he wasn’t just another Blackwell rich kid, but a Blackwell rich kid with a genuine _soul_.

They hung out for a good portion of that day, putting up posters together and learning about the other as they talked about music. Chloe’s missing posters were for Rachel Amber, a former best friend who vanished nearly a year ago, and Josh’s were of his twin sisters Hannah and Beth, but they’d only been missing for a few months. Oddly enough, their missing family and friends was what ended up pushing them together. The universe was a cold bitch, but Chloe was starting to find that even bad things could bring good people to her. 

The photograph Josh took of her smoking was nearly a weak old now, the same age as their friendship, and ever since they had been thick as thieves. Josh rarely said no, and that was his best feature. He was always up for some dumb dare or adventure, as long as he didn’t have school crap to keep up with. And that was another thing she liked about her new friend. Josh was maybe the most passionate person she’d ever met, and whoever he was dating must have been the luckiest guy ever, because every conversation flowed back to him somehow. _Chris_ , Chloe remembered Josh's boyfriends name. And holy hell, that was _another_ thing! Josh was gay! But she wouldn’t have guessed it. And then came a little bit of guilt. It didn’t matter to her that he was into guys, but maybe thinking that she could spot a gay guy from miles away was a little eighteenth century of her. Not, like, _homophobic_ , but maybe a bit rude. But whatever. By all means, Josh was a badass, and no matter what she always found herself smiling around him, because he always seemed to know what to say.

“Well! If it isn’t the Blue Beast herself!” came a voice, and Chloe looked to her left as she neared the end of her cigarette.

“Mr. President!” she yelled, seeing none other than Josh Washington marching toward her, head held high and his usual smile brighter than ever as he approached her truck.

“Just because my last name is Washington doesn’t mean you get to call me Mr. President,” he said, grinning as he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Whats got you in a twist?”

“Firstly,” Chloe began. “I _totally_ have the right to call you Mr. President. Secondly, its hella weird you showed up just now, I was _just_ daydreaming about you! And thirdly, what the hell makes you think I’m in a twist?”

Chloe took another drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke to one side as Josh joined her, leaning his back against the car door beside her. He was taller than she was, but not too much so. It was a comfortable difference.

“Maybe its your natural brooding charm,” he said. “Lighter?”

“Here,” Chloe sighed, and she reached into her pocket and tossed her nearly dead lighter at him. He caught it effortlessly.

“Thanks.”

“No prob, President Washington.”

“So,” Josh said, grinning at her as he lit the end of his own cigarette. “Spill your guts, babe.”

“Nah, its nothing really,” Chloe murmured, and she looked to the ground, kicking at pebbles with her leather boots, and Josh rolled his eyes.

“Come on, lets walk,” he said, and Chloe pushed away from the car as he did. Together they left Carmon behind, the beige and well rusted truck left sitting parked by the curb as the two began walking up the sidewalk.

“Distract me,” Chloe said. “I’ll get to my shit talk later, kay?”

“Righteous,” Josh said, and Chloe grinned. He said that word way too much, but something felt off about him today. Chris. It must have had something to do with him. Where was he? And for a moment she thought to ask about him, but if Josh wanted to talk about that sort of stuff, he would, so instead she pushed in another direction.

“So,” she began, and she stretched her arms up above her head, yawning as she cracked her back. “I know about your _perfect_ dude-friend Chris, your zany-ass sisters, but what about your parents?”

“Decent people,” Josh said, and Chloe gave him a look.

“What kid says their parents are _decent_? Everyone either loves ‘em or hates ‘em, you’ve gotta pick dude.”

“Okay, love ‘em then.”

“You sure about that?”

“Maybe,” he smirked, and Chloe groaned. Josh was a pro at weird head games.

“Alright don’t judge me, but I gotta rant," she said, exhaling as she thought over her next words. "When my dad died, it really messed me up. Being thirteen and having a parent die, I feel like thats an age when, if anything horrible happens, it just hits you, like, _real_ hard. You know?”

“Oh shit, yeah I remember you talking about your dad. I agree, about the age of thirteen and all…” Josh said, and to Chloe’s appreciation, he didn’t sound at all like he pitied her. He understand things about life that she was sure she’d never be able to accept or comprehend. On the outside, Josh was a fun loving guy, but underneath, Chloe could tell he was wise beyond his years. She frowned at him as they continued walking, slowly making their way to wherever fate may lead them, and a breeze through the trees lining the sidewalk stirred up the scent of earth and nature, making Chloe relax as she eased into the idea of venting to Josh about all that had happened. She didn't know why she brought up her fathers death just then, but it felt  _right._ Maybe it was because she knew that both herself and Josh were constantly missing people. It let the other know that it was okay to let all those feelings out when the other was around, and though Chloe was a pro at holding back sadness, around Josh that wall came down a little too easily. 

“But hey,” she continued. “I’m just bringing it up to, uh, let you know I guess, that I get what you’re feeling over Hannah and Beth. I mean _shit_ man, to this day I sometimes walk into my living room and expect to see my dad…”

“Damn, I think thats the worst part," Josh said. "Expecting to see the person thats gone. I do the same thing… Every time my phone buzzes I expect some dumb cat gif from Beth.”

“She’s out there, same with Hannah... I know it,” Chloe said sternly, and she put a hand on Josh’s arm before she squeezed gently and let the hand fall back to her side.

“And Rachel too,” Josh added, and Chloe nodded her head.

“Really think they’re connected? And sorry for making this convo so sad,” she chuckled, and Josh shrugged.

“They have to be connected… Nothing makes sense, but I don’t believe in coincidence anymore either. And no prob over the sad thing.”

“True, true” Chloe murmured, but she didn't understand what Josh was getting at with his _coincidence_ thing. So the two fell silent as they walked, and Chloe remembered the tangents Josh went off about sometimes. He’d talk about the way he thought things worked in the world, and how bad shit can happen, but theres always a reason. Like how odd the setup was for their first meeting, for instance, he obsessed over the little details of every situation. He knew his sisters had come to Arcadia Bay before they disappeared, but never got around to telling Chloe why he thought that, and then he talked about the disappearance of Rachel maybe being related to his sisters, and Chloe was lost. Josh was an odd thing to her sometimes, but things must have been messed up in his head, because sometimes his sentences didn't make sense, but today, on this walk, he was in a clear headspace.  

“Hey, Chloe,” Josh said, and when she looked over to him she saw he was still looking to the ground. She kicked a pebble a few more meters up the sidewalk.

“Yeah?” she said, and Josh shrugged.

“I almost died today.”

“ _What?_ ” Chloe yelled, and she stopped walking, grabbing Josh’s shoulder so that he would stop as well, and he turned to her.

“Almost got hit by a car,” he said, and Chloe couldn't stop herself from gawking at him.

“Whoa whoa whoa! Okay bro you've got a _seriously_ bad thing going on with your timing! What the fuck? Start from the beginning! Like, was it bad?”

“Yeah, it was actually,” he said, barely looking her in the eyes as he spoke. “But guess who saved me.”

“Who?”

“Chris.”

“Oh thank _God_ for that precious little bastard!” she yelled, and she saw her pebble and kicked it farther up the sidewalk again.

“But it was wild Chloe! Like, he came in out of… _nowhere_. Just running, full speed. He tackled me out of the way of this speeding cop car.”

“Yo, thats some serious super hero shit,” Chloe said, and for a moment she was lost in thought, imagining what her life would have been like if Josh had been hit and actually died. She shivered at the thought. She hated cars sometimes. And then she looked over at Josh again, the boy taking long strides as he began to walk again, and she noted how much more effort she had to put into walking in order to keep up with him. He really was like a beacon, a lighthouse of sorts, cutting through the bullshit Arcadia Bay put her through. He was a weird sort of blessing, and she was grateful that they were drawn to each other. After Rachel went missing, her former best friend, she was so damn lonely. But looking at Josh now, the way he tilted his head a little bit to the right as he walked, his eyes squinting at the sidewalk as he moved, Chloe could tell he was thinking deeply. He wasn’t telling her something. Maybe she hadn’t gotten the full story about the accident.

“Alright, spill your guts,” she said, and she punched him playfully in the arm as she stole one of his favourite phrases.

“Well I would have if it wasn’t for Chris!” he yelped, and he rubbed at his punched shoulder as if it hurt, and Chloe shook her head.

“If you don’t want to tell me everything, thats cool. But I better hear the full story later, or I’m renouncing your rights to be my friend.”

“So dramatic,” Josh laughed, and Chloe chuckled as she looked back to the ground. Her pebble was back in her sights, so she aimed carefully and kicked it farther up the sidewalk.

“You know what word I hate?” she said, filling in the subtle awkward space between the information Josh withheld. “The word _Abuse_ … ugh, it _sucks_!”

“Yo me too!” Josh exclaimed. “I just don’t say anything about it cos’ I don’t want people to get weirded out. It just, _urks_ me.”

“Well you’ve definitely got a friend in me then,” Chloe smiled, but it faltered as she looked back to her boots and she kicked the pebble farther down the sidewalk.

“I don’t know,” she continued, and Josh looked to his feet too as he listened. “Step-douche David, he smacked me once… Okay, a few times... But if you tell someone you were _abused_ , it just makes you sound like a total victim.”

“Yeah,” Josh sighed. “I get it.”

“But if you say you get beat up or yelled at, you just sound like- I mean, fuck if I know what to say. You just sound like a _survivor_ instead. I’d rather be a survivor than a victim.”

She didn’t look up, and she kicked the same pebble further down the street, keeping track of where it landed on the sidewalk. The conversation was getting heavy as it often did when she was alone with Josh. He made her feel okay with opening up, and she almost _never_ felt that way.

“Thats really insightful, but you know, not everyone is strong like you, Blue Beast,” Josh said, playfully nudging Chloe with his shoulder before flicking at her blue hair, and she lost balance for a moment before leaning back and smacking him with the back of her hand.

“ _Ha. Ha_ ,” she mocked. “You know how I do with my insightful bizz.”

“Seriously, though,” Josh said, and Chloe kicked the pebble up the side walk again. “You could have _rocked_ Blackwell.”

“Oh trust me, I did.”

“And I’m gonna want to hear more of those stories later,” Josh said with a smile. “But you could have done so well there.”

“Nah, I’m no brainiac or wiz with any kind of art.”

Her foot found the pebble again and sent it packing down the sidewalk a little further.

“Chloe,” Josh said, his voice stern, and the girl looked to him as he spoke. “You is kind, you is _smart_! You is-"

“ _Please_ give those movie references a rest would ya? _Jeez_ I’m gonna blow my brains out!” she groaned, words skipping over laughter as it bubbled up between them, and Josh grinned at her.

“I drive a lot of people crazy with movie quotes, it’s my thing! You wouldn’t _believe_ the stories I got,” he said, and Chloe rolled her eyes before laughing.

“I one hundred percent believe that!”

Josh let the smile on his face relax as it simmered down to a softer shadow of its former glory. He looked to his feet, the pair of them hitting the sidewalk in slow, even increments, and Chloe knew he was thinking of Chris. 

She let her boot slide against the sidewalk, and her pebble skipped ahead a few more meters. She was good with her feet. Agile, just like Hannah from what she was told of her, and again she looked to Josh. 

“You know,” Chloe began, and Josh gave her a look as he raised an eyebrow. “It sucks serious balls that you aren’t into girls.”

“ _What_?” Josh croaked, and before he knew it he was laughing, and so was Chloe, not holding back a single note as she leaned her head back and grabbed Josh’s shoulders for support.

“You’re _such_ a serious babe Josh!” she yelled, her voice still high from laughing. “Would hella make out with you if I could!”

“All good things to those who wait,” Josh smirked, and he wrapped an arm around Chloe’s shoulder, making them sway as they balanced with each other while walking.

“Is it weird to say that you’re seriously one of my best friends?" Chloe asked. "Even though we’ve just met, like, a week ago?”

“I don’t think so at all,” Josh said, and he stopped walking, putting Chloe in a playful headlock, and the girl laughed as she weaselled her way out of the hold.

“Dude watch my hair!” she gasped, a smile still brightening up her usually grim features, and Josh laughed as he began walking away from her. “I’m so going to remember you did that," she called. "I’m _huge_ into revenge!”

“I don’t doubt it either!” he said, and he shook his head while smiling, Chloe catching up to him as she fell into step along side him.

“And for the record,” he continued. “If I was into girls, I’d _hella_ make out with you too.”

“Righteous,” Chloe grinned, eyes on Blackwell Academy as they turned a corner and the school come into view, and Josh stopped walking. By the time Chloe realized that Josh wasn’t beside her she was already a few steps ahead of him, and she turned around to see what he was looking at.

On the road, near the yellow line that divided it lengthwise, was a stretch of black tire marks. She looked closer, leaning forward and stepping on the curb to get a better look, and saw a small bit of blood dried onto the concrete close to where she was standing.

“Holy _shit_ ,” she gasped, and she jumped backward, turning to Josh as she walked back to him and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Is that blood?”

“Just a scrape, I’m fine. Chris got one of his wrists messed up a bit, though,” Josh said, and his eyes looked dull and glassy, as if he were replaying the memory in his head. Chloe sighed as she put her hands on her hips and turned to the pebble she had been kicking up the sidewalk for the past few minutes of walking.

“Life is fucked,” she said, and Josh nodded in agreement.

She lined herself up with the pebble and kicked it hard, sending it flying out of sight. And that small, nearly round pebble, in her head seemed a little bit like Arcadia Bay. In one sweep it could be kicked up and broken by something. She wished more than anything that _she_ could be the one to kick it up and break it. Just flatten the terrain entirely. But even if she could, she knew she wouldn’t. Arcadia Bay was her home, and now it was Josh’s, and of course it was Max's again, too. So instead, she turned back to Josh and slowly, she pulled him into a hug.

"You know what? I think its damn time I meet this infamous Chris," she said, and Josh nodded as he put his arms up and hugged her back, and after a few moments of comforting silence, Chloe pulled away.

"But first things first," she said. "I've gotta talk through some stuff with Max." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max chose Nathan, so her and Nathan grew closer. Max and Nathan grew closer, so Chloe left and ran into Josh... Chloe left and ran into Josh, so Josh and Chloe grew the smallest bit closer... This action will have consequences.


	9. She Chose Chloe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this is a new record for horrible updating time, but better late than never :s! But hey! Weird coincidence... This chapter, in which Max chooses Chloe over Nathan in chapter 7, is only a few words longer than the one where Max chose Nathan... Wild huh? But anyway! I've officially started winter break so that means tons of writing time :') I'm so sorry its been a month and a bit since I've last update (oh my god I know...) but over the next week expect a lot of updates!

**Max - N/A: 1:53PM**

-Chloe,” she said, and she took a step toward the beige truck.

“Max wait,” Nathan began, but Warren was already starting to move, blocking him from getting to Max as she ran to the truck and swung it’s door open. She ignored Nathan, trying her best to forget what he said as she threw her satchel in the truck and jumped inside. Her door wasn’t even fully closed before Chloe began backing up, the wheels squealing against the pavement and Max was thrown forward, catching herself with her hands on the dashboard before she could hit her head.

When she looked up she saw Nathan swinging at Warren. The guy was insane. There was no way he genuinely saw what he claimed to have seen. He was off his rocker, claiming that he knew he shot Chloe dead, and Max couldn’t have been happier with her choice.

With a final grunt she jerked her door in the last few inches as Chloe swung out of the parking lot, backing out onto the road before shifting into drive and hitting the gas pedal.

“Hold tight kiddo!” she laughed, and Max swallowed hard as she was thrown back into her seat, the car lurching forward and stalling for a moment before kicking back to life.

“Chloe are you crazy?” Max gasped, but she could barely hear herself over the girl’s laugh. She was _laughing_! Like a mad woman who just got away with a bank robbery or something!

“You know the answer to that question, old _friend_ ,” Chloe smiled, but the way she said ‘friend’ left a bad ache in Max’s stomach, and all her pent up and suppressed guilt came rushing back to the surface. She couldn’t bring herself to address the elephant in the truck, the fact that she was too shy to talk to Chloe after she moved away from Arcadia Bay, and what hurt worse was the fact that she didn’t know _why_ she was shy.

“Well what’s your biz with Prescott?” Chloe asked, bringing Max out of her head and back into the present moment.

“O-oh, right,” Max gasped. “It’s a long story, really… And, I’ve got a lot to tell you.”  
“Well we’ve got all the time in the world now,” Chloe shrugged, and she swerved into the other lane, avoiding a pothole and throwing Max against the window.

“Slow down Evel Knievel!” Max groaned, and Chloe smiled at her before easing onto the breaks, and after a moment they were cruising down the road, away from Blackwell and all the madness it held within.

“Thanks,” Max murmured, and she rubbed her right shoulder, her hand aching for some reason even though she hadn’t hurt it, but then she remembered her newfound abilities.

 _Oh shit. I saved Chloe’s life,_ she remembered, and she looked over to Chloe as she rolled down her window. It looked like a difficult task, as she needed to crank the window down with one of those prehistoric handles that let you roll down the window. The entire truck seemed like something out of a horror movie, one where kids adventure too far from home only to have their car break down. It seemed like a situation that her and Chloe would get into, and she shuttered.

“Well I’m listening!” Chloe snapped, and she finally got her window all the way down, and Max got to work rolling hers down as she thought over where to begin.

“Chloe, for starters…” she began, but where could she go with the sentence without hurting Chloe? “I am _so sorry_ for not keeping in contact after I moved.”

“Yeah, shitty move, dickhead,” Chloe said, and though the words were harsh her tone was much less intense.

“I mean it,” Max sighed, and she adjusted her seatbelt. “I just felt like… It was one less person to make me feel like I was missing something, maybe, I don’t know…” And Chloe gave Max a sad looking frown before putting her attention back on the road.

“Honestly,” she began, but she paused in order to sigh, and Max bit her lip. “I’m not mad. I mean, shit, duh, I _was_ mad, but nah, we were kids. I know what you mean about missing people so…”

“I know you do,” Max said as Chloe fell silent, and for a moment she thought to put her hand over Chloe’s as it rested on the gearstick between them. She pulled herself back. The action seemed to… Intimate for the situation. They had only just met back up with each other, and Chloe was obviously still horrible at managing her emotions when it came to, well, _anything_ , so instead Max let herself silently watch the girl beside her.

Her eyes were a soft shade of green, the kind that made her think of summer and childhood memories. And her hair, _oh_ her hair… It was so different. Cut short and died blue, the complete opposite of its pre-teen stylization. But the hair didn’t matter, because other parts of her were still the same. Like her killer disposition and hunger for adventure and thrills. Max smiled. _Some things never change, do they, Chloe?_

“Ah MAN! This emotional talk is ruining the buzz of sticking it to Nathan,” Chloe groaned, and she gave Max a look that seemed to say _‘get ready nerd’_ , and Max covered her ears.

Smiling, Chloe punched a dial next to the only working air conditioner on her front dashboard, and instantly loud music blasted through the car.

“Yeah!” Chloe yelled, and she put her left arm out the window, letting the wind play through her fingers as she smiled ahead, and her happiness was contagious. Max grinned as she let her hands drop from the sides of her head, and instantly she recognized the song.

“I haven’t heard this in years!” she yelled, and Chloe nodded at her before she began singing along.

“Norgaard!” Max yelled, and she put her arm out the window as well. It was funny how quickly they fell back into their old routine of Chloe making noise and Max gripping tight to the rope that tethered them together. Everything was an event with Chloe, she was always followed by a bang, like each one of her waking moments contained a big bang of its own, multiple universes shouting into existence all around her all the time.

 _Damn, I’m a photographer AND a poet!_ Max yelled inwardly, and she laughed at her thoughts of Chloe and how grand they made her seem, but as Chloe sped up and wind ruffled the blue locks around her face, Max realized that she hadn’t been exaggerating when describing Chloe.

The Vaccines continued shouting, singing about relationships - or at least Max thought that was what they were getting at - and she let her head fall back against the seats headrest as the song washed over her. Never in her life had she wished she was able to sing, because now, in that moment, Chloe was belting along, drumming the air with invisible sticks as she steered the truck with her knees, and though Max knew better she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Thats it!” she yelled. “You’re officially crazy!”

“Crazy crazy, easy tiger!” Chloe yelled back, and Max shook her head as she realized that Chloe was quoting the intro of the song, even though it was just about to end. What a weirdo. But the thought of her singing the beginning at the end, for an inexplicable reason, made her remember why she had gotten in her truck.

“Chlo,” she said, and her voice came out far too loud, as she had spoken exactly when the song had ended. _How… Eery,_ she thought, and Chloe fell back into her seat as she put her hands back on the wheel.

“No one’s called me Chlo since, well, since _you_ ,” she said, and again max fell that same pang of damned guilt. She pushed it back into its cage before she looked to her right hand. Could she really tell Chloe everything? Tell her that she held complete control over everything she saw, or possibly everything in existence? What _was_ time anyway? But the thoughts in her head were making her brain ache, so she let them melt into nothing as another loud song came on in the truck.

“Chlo,” Max repeated, and she turned the music down, changing it from a waterfall of noise into a river of sound.

“Shoot,” Chloe said, noting that Max must have had something on her mind, but not realizing that the word she chose was making Max feel nauseous.

 _Of course she would choose that word,_ Max thought, and she sighed as she eased into the idea of telling Chloe everything.

“Where to begin,” she croaked, and Chloe scoffed.

“The beginning is usually a good start,” she said, but for some reason it felt as though Max had heard someone say that to her before, and recently…

“Promise me you won’t, like, flip out…”

“Cross my heart,” she said. “Hope to die.”

“So ironic,” Max nearly laughed, and Chloe gave her an annoyed look.

“Just spit it out already, damn,” she snapped, and Max looked out her window as she let every muscle in her body relax. She hadn’t noticed that she had gotten so tense, and the releasing tension sung life back into her limbs. She flexed her hands in her lap. Autumn trees raced by along the road as Chloe drove, soft guitar humming from the stereo, Wolf Pack by The Vaccines, Max knew this song too.

“Chloe, I think I can do things that… That no one else can.” Max was surprised, it was her voice saying the words, but she hadn’t felt herself say them. She kept her eyes on the trees as they drove past.

“Okay Mrs. Cryptic,” Chloe yawned. “Things like what?”

“Like… Turn back time,” Max said, and Chloe laughed a little.

“Cute,” she murmured. “Throwback to childhood playgrounds, huh?”

“No. Not like that Chloe. I’m serious. And I’ll prove it to you.”

“Alright you sound serious,” Chloe groaned. “It’s freaking me out. You okay?”

“I hope so,” Max murmured, and she looked to her hand, coming up with an idea that would prove to Chloe she could rewind time. “Alright, put your iPod on shuffle. I’m going to predict the next two songs that will play.”

“Make it three,” Chloe said, smiling as she understood the concept of Max’s little game. “Then I’d believe you.”

“Okay, three songs then,” Max said, and as Chloe reached for her iPod, Max closed her eyes and waited.

“Well?” Chloe said. “Predictions?”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Max explained. “I have to hear the three songs first.”

“Wow,” Chloe chuckled. “You actually had me excited for a second. But whatever, here we go.” And she hit shuffle before thumbing the _skip song_ button on her phone.

 _Santa Monica Dream, Angus and Julia Stone. First song down, two more to go,_ Max thought, but she frowned down at her lap as Chloe let the song play on a bit longer. She knew the tune well, only because it sounded light hearted and, in a weird sort of way, hopeful. But when she listened to the words it only made her sad. The song felt like a paradox to her, impossibly two things at once. Maybe she was a paradox too.

“Next one,” Max said. She didn’t look up from her lap.

“Yes _sir_ ,” Chloe murmured, and she skipped to the next song.

 _Snow. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Nice pick for your iPod Chloe,_ Max thought, and she smiled as she hummed along to the tune, even though her voice wasn’t deep enough.

“Alright, got it. Last song,” Max said, and Chloe didn’t speak as she skipped to the third song.

The song started playing, but Max was stumped. “I haven’t heard this before,” she said, and Chloe shook her head in disapproval.

“Guess I’m too hipster for you,” she laughed, and she paused the song, letting both hands assume a ten and two grip on the wheel. “You’re _so_ full of shit Max.”

“Just tell me the name of that last song, and I’ll be able to prove that I’m telling the truth,” Max said, mad at herself for sounding so sad, but she couldn’t help it. For some reason, she felt that she was going insane. If she couldn’t prove to Chloe that she could rewind time, then maybe she only imagined saving Chloe from Nathan in the first place. If she couldn't prove that her ability was real to Chloe, then maybe she really was insane. But just as the thought began to scare Max, Chloe spoke up. 

“Different Child, by David and Elizabeth P,” Chloe said.

“Weird how soft this song is, compared to the rest of the stuff on your iPod I mean,” Max said, and she finally looked up from her hands and over at Chloe. Their eyes met, and Chloe took in the look of worry on Max’s face.

“Everybody has a _chill_ side, Max, even me,” she said, and just as she was about to continue, Max raised her right hand and stopped her.

* * *

_I have to go back, and prove that I have this power._

With her right hand in the air, the truck came to a halt, the world outside was still and unresponsive as she felt sand begin to swim between her fingers. It was odd, like water flowing both over and through her hand at the same time, and in that water she could feel small clumps of sand.

 _The sands of time,_ she thought.  _If I wasn’t so freaked out, I’d have time to think this feeling is cool._

And then she groaned, because she would _always_ have time to think the feeling was cool… She would always have time to do  _anything_ really.

 _Alright enough messing around,_ she said, and she gripped the stream of invisible water flowing through her hand with her mind and pulled back hard. Without question, she felt time flow backward.

No matter how she phrased the feeling in her head, no words could describe the sensation of turning back time. No analogy could compare to the actual experience.

She looked to Chloe, the girl talking backwards as she thumbed the skip button on her iPod, until Chloe finally leaned back and put her hand back out the window. She really was beautiful, full of vitality in a way Max almost envied. Her short and vibrant blue hair whirling around in the truck, but it all looked backwards as Max continued rewinding time.

_Okay, far enough._

She let her hand fall back to her lap as her head began to hurt a little, and just as time shot back into its regular course, she saw Samuel looking into the car, directly at her as Chloe drove past him from across the street.

* * *

“Samuel?” Max breathed, and Chloe scrunched up her eyebrows as she gave max a confused look.

“What? The creepy janitor guy from your school? Where?”

“We just drove past him!” Max said, her tone too excited, and Chloe smirked at her.

“Über weird,” she chuckled. “But I don’t care about that guy! I want to test your _powers_ Max!”

“Oh right,” Max said, she had almost forgotten about rewinding time after having Samuel look at her the way he had. He almost had an eery look to him, totally creepy, but she didn’t let it get to her.

Chloe reached for her iPod with her eyes still on the road, and with expert hands she found it easily.

“Well?” Chloe said. “Predictions?”

“First song coming up is. Um… Santa Monica Dream by… Angus and Julia Stone,” she said.

“Sounds good! Love the vibe of that song, lets hear it!” Chloe yelled, and she pressed the skip button on her iPod, and sure enough, the gentle strumming of guitars filled up the her truck. Santa Monica Dream came through for Maxine Caulfield. _Score._

“Whoa, _dude,_ ” Chloe gasped. “Epic, but I’m saving my judgement for later... Whats the next song?”

“Oh man, my short term memory is _really_ giving me a hard time,” Max sighed as she rubbed her forehead. “I think it was… Oh yeah! Snow, by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.”

“ _Damn_ I love that song,” Chloe said, and she pumped her fist into the air once to show her appreciation. “Lets see if the oracle Max is right, shall we?”

“We shall,” Max said, already starting to feel better about the weird Samuel incident and the sick feelings over watching Chloe get shot.

“And God said… Let there be… Snow!” Chloe announced dramatically, and she skipped over the last parts of Santa Monica Dream.

Immediately after, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers started up in the truck. The memorable guitar intro kicking to life in the cramped spaces of the truck, and Max crossed her arms as she gave Chloe a knowing look.

“Told you,” she said, and she gave Chloe a small smile.

“No. F-ing. Way!” Chloe yelled. “Is this for real?”

“Don’t flip out!” Max yelled back. “You’re the one driving!”

“Oh yeah!” Chloe laughed, and she put both hands on the wheel as she rocked her head back and forth to the beat of the song. “I just, like, dude! I’m tripping out! How did you do that?”

“I’m serious, Chlo. I can, honest to God, rewind time.”

“Alright, last song and you’ve got me convinced,” she said, and Max bit her lip as her smile faded.

“I hadn’t heard the song before,” she said. “Not until you showed it to me just now.”

“What do you mean _just now_?”

“Well, I mean, the past you. Or… Maybe its the future you… But you told me what it was called.”

“Righteous,” Chloe smirked, and soon after she was rolling her eyes. “I don’t care about the technicalities, predict the song!”

“Okay okay! You said it was called Different Child.”

“Wow. Really? I haven’t listened to that song in months. But hmmm… Well, who’s it by then?” Chloe tested, and Max nodded her head.

“David and Elizabeth P,” she said, and Chloe’s jaw dropped as her head snapped to the right in order to look at Max. Chloe put her foot on the break, slowing the car down as she came to a stop on the gravel beside the paved road.

“Holy… Holy shit, Max…” Chloe said, and Max was surprised at just how awestruck Chloe was acting. There was no way she could have already believed in her powers, could she?

“Whats wrong? Are you really that surprised that I can… I can do this thing?”

“Yeah, actually. I am,” Chloe snapped, suddenly angry, and Max didn’t know why. Before Max could respond Chloe grabbed her iPod again and hit the skip button. As predicted, Different Child began playing through the truck.

“The artist isn’t named David and Elizabeth, it's Roo Panes,” Chloe said, looking down at her lap as she thought through what seemed to be a serious problem in her head.

“W-what? But… But you told me it was-”

“David and Elizabeth. Think about it Max," she interrupted. "My dads first name and my middle name. This is going to sound stupid, but… Its a personal code I made up. I’ve told myself that if I ever want to test whether or not I can trust someone, I ask them for the code.”

“Okay, but… How would they ever know the _code_?”

“Well it was more for an old friend of mine who went missing. Her name was Rachel.”

“Rachel Ambers?” Max asked, and Chloe nodded her head. “So you’re the one who’s been putting up those missing persons posters all over town.”

“Yeah, I am… But that doesn’t matter, okay? What matters is the fact that only two people alive know about my little code. Me. And Rachel. I told her it in case we got separated and she had to tell a stranger where she was. That way she could tell the stranger the magic words you know? Whoever she told, if they came up to me, would repeat the password, and I'd have to believe whatever they said. I'd know I could trust them."

“So you were testing me…” Max said, and again, Chloe nodded her head.

“This is for real?” Chloe asked, and Max took in a deep breath.

“Yes,” she said.

“Okay. I believe you,” Chloe nearly whispered, clearly more than a little freaked out, but something had changed between the two of them. Max could feel it. Something still kept them tied together, but instead of feeling right as it did all those years ago, it only left Max feeling anxious.

“Strange,” she said, and she couldn’t hep but laugh a little as she closed her eyes and fell back in her seat. “I _am_ a different child. Different from everyone else now. Aren’t I? Weird how music always finds a way to relate itself to situations…”

“Oh yes, my sweet little innocent Maxine,” Chloe said, finding the will to smile as she looked Max in the eyes. “You’ve _always_ been a different child."

* * *

One left turn, and Max knew where they were headed. Chloe began driving slower, following road signs as they told her to adjust her speed, and Max found herself genuinely relaxed as she rested her head against the window closest to her.

“Are we going to the lighthouse?” she asked, and Chloe nodded her head, taking another right as she began driving away from town and into a lightly forested area.

“You know, I had a really weird dream about this place,” Max sighed, and she counted the pine trees they drove under, their green needles quivering in a gentle breeze, and she smiled softly.

“I secretly love this part of town,” Chloe said, and Max took her eyes off the trees as she focused back on Chloe. “I always say I hate this place,” she continued. “But… _Meh_. Nature hella rules in these parts.”

“Hella true,” max said, and she smiled to herself, looking back out the window as she recalled the hurricane. How could she break that to Chloe? She had already freaked her out with the iPod predictions, but… It had to be done. She couldn’t leave her best friend in the dark, not again.

“Hey, Chlo-”

“Here!” Chloe yelled, and Max fell silent as they turned hard into the parking lot at the base of the gigantic hill that lead up to the lighthouse. In a flash Chloe found a parking spot, swinging into it with ease as she parked and killed the engine to her truck.

“See ya Carmon!” she yelled, and she kicked her door open as she jerked the handle, narrowly missing the parked car next to her as she jumped out.

“Carmon?” Max laughed, and she followed Chloe as she opened her own door.

“I named her,” Chloe smiled. “Cameron. I don’t know why, I just think its a total babe name for a pick-up truck.”

“ _Oh la la_ ,” Max grinned, and she patted the beige truck with her palm before circling around and meeting Chloe, the girl putting an arm around Max's shoulder as they began walking toward the trial that lead up the small mountain.

“Save whatever you were about to say for when we get to the lookout,” Chloe said, and Max felt Chloe's arm tighten around her shoulders as they walked.

“Okay,” she said, and she looked to her feet, counting the amount of steps she took to the mouth of the forest trail as Chloe began humming the song that last played from Carmon.

* * *

It was a long walk up, and all the way they maintained some sort of physical contact. An arm around the others shoulder. Interlaced fingers. A playful shove followed by laughter. It was beautiful, the hike packed with revery and happiness, until finally the path opened up, and Max reached the spot where she had awoken in her hurricane dream.

 _Don’t,_ she told herself. _It will make you sad. Just don’t._

So she kept moving, stumbling over the spot as though it never existed, and she loved Chloe for her friendship and the distraction she provided. Without Chloe, Max’s world would have been so much darker, and as she thought of that dark place, void of Chloe and the blue of her newly shortened hair, they arrived at the base of the lighthouse, the view in front of them a gift from God as they caught their breath and sat on the bench that overlooked the great drop off in front of the lighthouse.

“Maximus, start from the beginning,” Chloe said, crossing her arms in front of herself as she looked off at the horizon. “How the hell. I mean, like, _dude_! How did you get super powers?”

“I really don’t know,” Max sighed, and she moved herself a little closer to Chloe as she wrapped her arms around herself. “But it all started with you and Nathan Prescott.”

“Nathan? Yo, hold up. I better get some serious details, and _stat_.”

“Remember when you were in the bathroom? Maybe an hour ago?”

“Wait you were there?” Chloe gasped, and Max looked to her feet.

“Neither of you noticed me,” she said, and she moved herself a little closer to Chloe again. “But when he pulled a gun on you-“

“He didn’t pull a gun on me.”

“But he did Chloe. He did! He… He shot you dead, and as I watched you fall to the ground I reached out for you and then… Then I rewound time.”

“Christ,” Chloe breathed, and she sat back on the bench, unfolding her arms and letting her hands rest on her knees. “So. I really died, huh? I really bit the dust?”

“Total corpse,” Max murmured with a shiver, and again, she moved in closer to Chloe. Their thighs were touching now, the warmth of the other a comforting sensation, and Chloe put an arm around Max again as they leaned into each other.

“So, like, if you never saw me die you wouldn’t have realized you could rewind time,” Chloe guessed, and Max nodded her head.

“I think so, but it may be a bit more complicated…”

“How could it be more complicated than _that_?” Chloe nearly laughed, but Max shook her head.

“Because Nathan, thats why,” she said, and she felt her heart skip a beat. “He acted like… Like he knew I was going to rewind time.”

“Holy shit. I’m totally tripping balls right now.”

“You aren’t the only one,” Max sighed, and suddenly, she was aware of the beating of Chloe’s heart, and she rested her head on the girls shoulder. Her friends heart was thumping fast, too fast, and as she wondered how exactly she could sense Chloe's heartbeat, she realized that her own heart was keeping pace with Chloe’s. But why was she so nervous?

“Your hearts beating super fast,” Max said, and she closed her eyes, letting herself just melt into Chloe as she relived her best childhood memories. They all contained Chloe, and she realized then that maybe she cared more for Chloe than she could ever admit to herself.

“Thats what happens when your best friend comes back to you just in time to save your life and is _also_ supercharged with time travel magic,” Chloe rambled, and she was out of breath by the end of her sentence, but just then a warm breeze whipped up from behind the lighthouse and curled through the girls hair.

Max opened her eyes, the orange sun a distant ball in the sky as if it were getting ready to set, leaving the blue around it a gentle pink and red mixture. Not a cloud in sight. It was the perfect day in regards of weather, but then Chloe stood as if something had startled her.

“Whoa, what is it?” Max asked, and she stood in order to keep up with Chloe.

“Red Hot Chilli Peppers!” she yelled, and she pointed upward.

“What the fuck?” Max gasped, and she followed Chloe’s pointing finger upward with her eyes, and she saw exactly what Chloe was looking at in the sky.

“Red Hot Chilli Peppers!” Max repeated, and she would have laughed at the joke Chloe had made, but what she was seeing made everything seem far too unnatural.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers... Max understood completely now. Chloe had yelled it because of the snow. Against all logic, on a cloudless and awkwardly warm October day, it was beginning to _Snow_. 

“But its so warm!” Chloe yelled into the horizon, confused as she stepped closer to the drop off, and Max stepped up with her. She stared wide-eyed at the sky, looking out over the sea as warm gusts of air played through her unzipped sweater. Seagulls cawed as they flew overhead. The smell of pine and cedar trees mixed with sun and sea, and Max realized that everything was too vibrant in that moment, as if God were telling her that she was exactly where she needed to be as he let snow sail down from a cloudless sky.

Chloe turned back to Max, a smile wide on her face as she adjusted her black beanie, and grabbed Max’s hand as she pulled her closer. The once far off snow was finally reaching them, and its cold essence stuck to their skin as they smiled at the wild show playing out on the horizon, specks of white dancing across a curtain of orange and red.

“I’ve never seen anything so amazing,” Max whispered.

“I have,” Chloe said, and she squeezed Max’s hand.

“Like what?” Max asked, and she looked to Chloe, the girl now giving her an odd look as if Max had subtly began to grow antlers. But then something unexpected happened, and Chloe leaned in fast only to kiss Max hard on the lips.

Everything froze up, almost as if Max had used her powers, but she knew she hadn’t, and two seconds later Chloe was pulling away. She stayed close to her, their eyes open and staring into those of the other, and Max finally found the sense to breathe after the chill of snow made her shiver.

“Chloe,” she said. What other word could she produce? Nothing else made sense, everything else was too hot in her mouth, Chloe was the only thing cool enough to handle.

“Sorry,” the girl whispered, and Max was stunned. She wondered then if she’d ever heard Chloe say the word sorry before.

“No. No thats not what I wanted to hear.”

“Good,” she said. “Because I didn’t mean it.”

“Wow,” Max murmured, laughing as she leaned away from Chloe while pursing her lips. She could still feel Chloe pressed up against her, even though they were apart now, hands at their sides and away from the other.

“I missed you a lot, Max… When you moved away, it really killed me,” Chloe said, and Max turned back to face her, snow a cold backdrop that made Chloe’s hair seem even more strikingly blue.

“God Chloe… I missed you too,” Max said, and again she found herself moving closer to Chloe. She’d been doing it all day, edging herself closer, and only now did she realize it as a fact. She wanted to be with Chloe, her old best friend, more than ever before in her life, but maybe there was more behind it. Maybe she didn’t just want to be close. Maybe that wasn’t enough. What she needed was to touch her… And she didn’t care about how odd that sounded in her head anymore. She admitted it, she needed Chloe.

And Chloe came closer to Max, meeting her half way as she put an arm around her shoulder. Max wrapped her own arm around Chloe’s middle, letting her hand rest on the girls hip as the two of them looked off at the orange sky beyond the base of the lighthouse.

“You weren’t going to hit him… Were you?” Max asked, breaking the silence as she took in the fact that her and Chloe had kissed. Without thinking, Chloe scoffed.

“Pfft, you mean Nathan? I don’t know. I would've been doing the world a huge favour, though,” she said, poking Max in the side and making her squirm.

“Stop!” Max laughed, and Chloe squeezed her shoulder as she laughed as well. “You always used to do that crap when we were little.”

“You’ll always be Mini-Max to me!” Chloe exclaimed.

“Just because you’re a bit taller!” Max laughed back, and she pushed away from Chloe as she went to run back down the trail. “Last one to the truck has to buy the other a chocolate bar.”

“Oh and now you’re cheating, too!” Chloe yelled from farther behind, and Max could hear her begin to run just as she fell into a jogging pace.

The two laughed, running through the falling snow, the green needles of pine trees lining the path catching hold of the premature winter, and never in her life had Max smiled harder. No, that was wrong, she _had_ smiled this hard before, but each of those times, they were with Chloe. She stopped running abruptly, turning hard and catching Chloe before she could fully stop, and the two of them nearly toppled over.

“Holy hell!” Chloe gasped, wrapping her arms around Max as she caught herself and settled awkwardly into a standing position.

“Chloe,” Max said, and the girl found her balance, standing taller and looking Max in the eyes.

“Yeah?”

“If you died today. I would have died too,” she said, and she pulled Chloe closer, down to her level, and grasping hard at the only courage she had left in her body... she kissed her. This time it lasted much longer, and Max knew that there were words they needed to say to each other, but were either of them brave enough to say them out loud?

 _Definitely not,_ Max thought. _But as long as we’re together… I think we can figure out whats happening to me. I had that weird dream for a reason, and Chloe… She’s the only reason I’m able to do what I can do._

And that was the last solid thought that Max could construct. Everything else in her head was getting fuzzy and heated, as if Chloe's kiss was turning on a heat lamp inside her brain. By the time they pulled away from each other, Max’s insides were swimming in intense emotion. She’d kissed Chloe, _twice_ , and lived to tell the tale. 

“Don’t worry,” Chloe said, and Max gave her an odd look as she wondered what she was talking about. "We’ll figure all this out, Max. I promise. _Together_.”

It was as if Chloe had read her mind, but this wasn’t the first time she had addressed something Max was already thinking about. Chloe always seemed to know what was making Max worry, and at times like these, she was grateful for Chloe’s weird gift.

“Okay,” she said, still holding Chloe close in her arms as the snow began to dissipate. “We’ll figure this out… Together.”


	10. She Chose Chloe - Side Consequence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright oh man, I've missed writing so much, I'm a horrible person, but enjoy this update if you chose Chloe! Next chapter advances the plot like you wouldn't believe, I'm excited to get back into it!

**Chris - Blackwell/Josh’s Dorm. 2:36PM**

For a long time after saving Josh, Chris was in pain. His hands hurt, his hips, his knees his shins his teeth, even his _brain_. The world was a weird blur of surreal moments and skipping time, like a Super 8 film reel with every other frame missing.

“Ugh,” he groaned, and in exasperation Chris took his off glasses, tossing them across the room, watching them land unceremoniously in one corner of Josh’s room.

Shortly after their conversation in which Chris spilled the beans about his powers and Josh told him of his true reason for moving to Arcadia Bay, he got up, deciding that he needed a smoke, and said he would be back in a few minutes.

Honestly, Chris was thankful. He loved Josh’s company, but sometimes a person just needed to be alone in order to process things. There was so much swimming in his head. He wanted to laugh, to let everything out, to get back to the way things were before time got all screwy. He thought for a moment about what he really wanted as he looked around Josh’s room, admiring the movie posters and the small pile of cloths sitting on his couch.

 _How did he fit that damn couch in here anyway,_ Chris mused inwardly, finding the will to smile as he remembered where the couch came from. It had been sitting in Josh’s basement for years, an extra leather couch in case something happened to one of the many they had throughout the massive home. Thats just the way his family was, careful to the next level. They were _all_  like that, save Beth and Josh. Maybe that was why the two were so close. Of course, him and Hannah shared a connection, but in a more artistic way rather than on a personality level.

 _Okay, enough,_ Chris thought. _Just… Relax, for one second._

And just then, Chris realized what it was he wanted most. He didn’t give a crap about his powers or the girl from his dream, all he really wanted was to be himself again. To be the fun one. The one who always had a bad pun up his sleeve. Would life never be that simple again? Or maybe life would permanently be as Josh had described it; full of strange happenings.

He sighed, leaning back on Josh’s bed and ignoring the ache in his joints from the tension in his body. With his eyes on the ceiling and his mind a blank canvas, his left hand ached as he listened to the sound of college life. Outside Josh’s door, he could hear boys entering and leaving the building, heading into their own closed off dorms or starting up loud conversations the way boys often do. It all felt too mundane, too _normal_ , so quickly, Chris came up with an idea. He decided to come up with a list, but not just any list...

 _And on the eighth day,_ Chris thought. _God said, 'Let Chris come up with a list of things that are fucked up in his life.'_

That seemed like a fun idea, just to pass the time as he waited for Josh. 

 _Number 1,_ Chris thought. _Josh came to Arcadia Bay because he believes that Hannah and Beth may be here._

That definitely deserved to be at the top of the list. He couldn’t even believe it. Three months of nothing, and then _bam_ , just like that Josh brings up a possible lead? Come on, and just after Chris discovered he was some sort of time guru? No way, at this point, Chris didn’t believe in coincidences. And that lead him to the second thing on his mindfuck list.

_Number 2: I can rewind time._

And God was that one ever a doozy. Instead of dwelling on it he shook his head and massaged his left hand.

_Number 3: I can alter the course of history._

Now that was something important. He never really knew what would happen if someone actually went back in time. He liked to think that they would never be able to change anything, instead they would just end up causing what was supposed to happen, to happen, but it never made sense in his head... In thinking they were changing things, they only caused what they wanted to change to actually happen, but no, not in his case. He saw Josh die, and he was able to go back and save him… Take that, science movies.

_Number 4: I dreamed about a girl and a hurricane, and it turns out the girl is real so…_

Did that mean the hurricane was going to be real, too? Now that was something he didn’t particularly want to reflect on.

_Number 5: Hannah is… PSYCHIC???!!?!?_

He screamed that point out as loud as he could in his head, and he chuckled to himself, feeling proud of his dramatic thoughts. There was no way she predicted Chris taking Josh to that field with the amazing view of the stars, it wasn’t even a conscious decision he made, he just sort of… went with his gut. But then again, she always did have that quiet sort of mystical aura about her, so when he really thought about it, the idea of a psychic Hannah didn’t seem to weird to him.

As he went to add to his list, immediately thinking of the short haired girl from his dream who turned out to be a real person, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

 _And who seeks knowledge from the Time God today?_ Chris thought to himself. Before pulling out his phone, he paused, reflecting on just how odd he had been feeling ever since he moved to Arcadia Bay. For some reason, he was only now starting to feel himself again. Only now, all by himself, was he starting to crack jokes just for the hell of it. He was changing, something was off. But he had a new lifetime to think over his mental state, so for now, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Of course, it was a text from Josh.

 ** _Eeeeh BBG! Miss you so mUCH my sugar pie honey bun._**  Chris instantly started laughing, his ribs hurting from the motion, but he didn’t care, the laugh held more power than the pain did.

 _ **Josh ur actually something else. Wish u were here ShnOOKUMS!** _ He messaged back, loving every word that Josh said. Thank God he was so funny, always using the most over the top words to describe his feelings. Thats just how Josh was in a relationship, he guessed. Over the top was both their styles, and oh hell, it was funny. It felt good just letting go for a moment as he texted Josh back with an equal amount of enthusiasm. 

 ** _What would we do if I was with you right now babe ha ha?_ ** Josh messaged back, and again Chris laughed out loud. This was something Josh did all the time, text him as if they were only just meeting, and Josh always went for that classic thirsty teenage boy vibe right off the bat.

 **_Maybe netflix and Chill?_** Chris texted back innocently. 

**_Ha ha and then what ;)_ **

**_Maybe a romantic trip to the local McDonalds?_ **

**_Ha ha and then what ;)))))_ **

**_JESUS! ENOUGH! ENOUGH!_** Chris messaged back, and at this point, if it were possible, Chris would have died from laughing. Why was he getting so much genuine joy out of this weird conversation? Well, no matter the reason, he knew that no matter what, he fucking loved every part of Josh inside and out.

He brought his thumbs back to the screen of his phone, ready to type out another message, but then he felt something _pinch_ in his brain and his hands froze up as if he were being shocked.

_Ouch! Fuck me… What the-_

Before he could form a solid thought, and without his permission, time began moving backward.

 **Jesus!** he yelled, and he realized that as time slid backward, his voice sounded just as loud as it had in his hurricane dream. He watched as the world vibrated around him, as if it were a living thing, fighting to collapse in on itself, until suddenly his glasses picked themselves up off the floor and glided backward through the air toward Chris’s head.

 **Whoa!** he gasped, and he ducked under them before they could take his eyes out, and they hovered in the spot where his head was at that point in time, and then as soon as it started, it stopped.

Time fell back into its normal pace, and his glasses fell onto Josh’s bed beside him.

“What the. O-okay. What the _fuck_ ,” Chris murmured, and he picked his glasses up and threw them back into the corner he had earlier.

Did he not have any sort of control over time? Was it just a coincidence that he willed it to rewind when it actually did? But… How was he the only one to not move backward?

“I’m gonna go crazy!” he groaned, and he flopped backward, laying down on Josh’s bed with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He got ready to sigh, but just as he breathed in, a thought popped into his head, and he held his breathe.

 _Wait, what if. No, no way,_ he thought, working out the kinks in his new idea.  _What if… I’m not the only one who can rewind time?_

And just like that, everything became clear. The girl in his dream, he saw her when he first rewound time and saved Josh’s life. He ran into her in the hallway at school before running to save Josh. He thought long and hard about the timing of everything, and after a few moments, he jumped up on Josh’s bed, nearly hitting the ceiling as he gasped.

“Oh my GOD!” he yelled. “That girl! She’s a time traveller too! But wait. She must have. Holy shit! She must have rewound time at the same time that I did! That explains how we didn't notice each other before, but what is she doing now? Okay... So we both had a hurricane dream, or, _vision_. She reached her hand out to me, just like I do when I rewind time. She was in a hurry, what was happening in the bathroom then? She must have gone in there before I- or... We, rewound time.”

Chris jumped up and down on Josh’s bed, feeling the mattress give under his weight, and he thanked God that he could feel its solid form beneath him. In a way, it stabilized him, being able to stand after watching time move backward around him, feeling it flow through his chest and in-between the atoms of his body. For some reason he was excited, but why?

“Wait, I know why,” he said aloud, not caring what people outside the room might think. “Because… I’m not alone in this.”

He stopped jumping, smiling to himself. A weird sort of universally decided partnership was forced onto him and this random girl. He didn't even know her name, why would the two of them be given this gift? But more importantly, was Chris even right in assuming she could time travel? Well it was the only explanation he could think off in regards to time skipping backward the way it had without his permission. She must have rewound time, but that meant that when she rewound time, he wouldn’t rewind with the rest of the world, so maybe if _he_ rewound time, she wouldn’t rewind either.

The girl from his dream, the one he ran into in the halls of Blackwell, the one coming out of Josh’s class… And then Chris realized something. Josh must have known her… She was in his God damn class this whole time. If he was lucky and had Josh’s help, maybe he could find the girl.

Just then his phone buzzed in his pocket, and as fast as he could Chris pulled it free.

**_Eeeeh BBG! Miss you so mUCH my sugar pie honey bun._ **

It was a text from Josh, but Chris wasn’t surprised. He knew it was coming. Without thinking he immediately started texting back.

**_Get back here A$AP Rocky. Something just happened. Don’t worry. I’ll explain._ **

That would get Josh moving, he was sure of it. And just like that, as he sat back down on Josh’s bed, crossing his legs in front of him, Chris realized that what used to be his normal life outside of Arcadia Bay was something so unfathomably distant that it nearly didn’t matter anymore. Within the span of a few hours, he discovered that he could time travel, that Josh’s sisters may very well be hidden in the mess that was the small fishing town of Arcadia Bay, and that he shared some odd connection with a short haired girl in Blackwell’s photography program.

Life in that moment felt like a video game. Like a book or T.V. show, something he surely couldn’t be wrapped up in. But he digressed, shaking his head free of those cliché thoughts. For once, _he_ would be the hero. It would be him finding Hannah and Beth and pulling Josh’s life back together just like he always wanted to.

“And its about time, too,” he said. Josh deserved everything the world could offer, and with his newfound power - and possibly the help from a fellow time traveller - anything was possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max chose Chloe, and deeper feelings developed… Deeper feelings developed, and Max proved she could rewind time… Max proved she could rewind time, and Chris could feel Max turn back time… Chris could feel Max turn back time, and Chris realized the two of them were connected… This action will have consequences.


	11. Split

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are gonna get plot heavy again real soon, and then a lighter chapter with Chris and Josh will come up... If you know what I mean... *winks*... *closes both eyes by accident*... *walks away embarrassed*... Enjoy!

**Max - Blackwell: 3:00pm**

**Hours Till Dawn: 88**

For a moment, Max was lost.

Lost in thought. Lost in the moments she had just shared. Lost in time…

Her world - her entire life - now a whirlwind of mixed emotion and unconventional weather patterns. It suddenly had _meaning_. She meant something now, and though she knew it wasn’t good to think of herself as a meaningless person before... she couldn’t help herself.

It had been the longest day of her life. What words could be used to describe such a time altering and history changing discovery? Max Caulfield, a genuine time traveler, perhaps the only one of her kind. The endling of a dead species of superhuman. What was she? Maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe she was crazy after all, but as she reflected on the past few hours, and remembered who she had spent those hours with, everything cleared up. She had someone she knew she could count on, someone who she recently realized she cared about deeply. Could she use the word love? Maybe it was better not too… That word felt far too strong, at least, too strong for now.

So she looked up from her spot on the curb in the Blackwell parking lot, pulling her eyes away from her scuffed converse shoes and up to the spot where Chloe nearly hit Nathan with her truck.

 _If she did hit him_ , Max thought. _Would I go back in time… And save him like I did Chloe?_

She wanted to say yes. The right thing to do was say yes. But what if it messed up time? She still didn’t know what would happen to the world after she saved Chloe, but something in the back of her mind told her that it wasn’t good.

 _But… Fuck that,_ she decided _. I was given this power for a reason. Maybe I’m meant to save people._

So with new resolve she stood from her spot and pulled out her phone. No one had texted her. She sighed and put the device back into her jean pocket, and for the second time that day she began walking the edge of the sidewalk as if it were a tightrope. The last time she did this was right before Nathan came roaring up to her, and thank God Warren was there. Nathan was too scary to face alone half the time, but, after spending time with him-

 _Wait._ Max thought, and she stopped walking, looking up to Blackwell Academy as it towered over her to her right. _Something feels… wrong._

She thought back to the moment Nathan came running toward her, how he looked so desperate, so ready to give her a message, but then Chloe showed up. She remembered feeling stuck. Feeling torn as she struggled to decide who to go with.

 _Come on Max, this isn’t hard. Just-_ she paused to breathe in deep before sighing hard. _Just think… Who did you go with?_

Suddenly there was a new sort of panic racing through her body, almost as if she were back in her hurricane dream, scared for her life as the world screamed around her. She thought over the past few hours, deeper than she had ever thought over anything in her entire life, and realized something that made her stomach drop to the ground.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, and the colours of the autumn trees suddenly looked less vibrant. The wind felt less natural as it brushed against her skin. The world was closing in. Her heartbeat spiked, picking up pace as she realized that somehow, she didn’t know who she picked. She didn’t remember, or perhaps, the problem was that she remembered too _much_.

She thought of Nathan, and remembered the loud music he played as they drove to the lighthouse. She remembered how warm he was when he put an arm around her shoulder. She remembered him predicting the snowfall, the brown of his eyes, the smell of his cologne. She remembered his lips…

“Oh christ,” Max gasped, and she felt herself losing balance, so she sat back down on the curb with her head in her hands.

She then thought of Chloe, closing her eyes as she remembered the smell of her truck after she chose to go with her. The cigarettes. The music she used to prove to Chloe that she could rewind time. Their happy moments at the base of the lighthouse. The feel of being so close to her body. Their kiss…

“Maxwell!” came a voice from behind her, and it made Max jump out of fright as she twisted her body around to see who was approaching. With a sigh of relief she shook her head, seeing that Chloe was now marching toward her. She had a big smile plastered to her face, lighting up her eyes, effectively making her look _happy_ for a change, but when she saw the dread on Max’s face, it faltered. “Whoa… Dude, whats wrong?”

“Where was I over the last few hours, Chloe?” Max asked, sniffling as if she were about to cry, even though she knew she wouldn’t.

“You were with me, Max. I-I promise.” Chloe sat down next to Max on the curb, instinctively putting an arm around her, and without question, Max leaned back into her.

“Are you sure?” she asked, and Chloe nodded.

“You’re scaring the fuck out of me, Max.”

“But… I remember. Oh, Chloe. I remember going with Nathan. I remember him telling me about himself. I remember so much more than just… _Us,_ over the last few hours.”

“Okay, thats enough Jesus juice for today, how much have you drank Max?” Chloe chuckled, and Max assumed that she was trying to make light of the situation, but it wasn’t working.

“Chloe… I… I think that, along with time travel, well, I don't know exactly… I think that I can be in two places at once or something.”

“So... Hold up. You really chose Nathan over _me_? But… When?” Chloe asked, sounding angry as she retracted her arm from around Max's shoulder, and Max winced as if she had been struck. 

_Great. Now Chloe's pissed again._

“No, this isn’t about that!" she explained. "I just. I remember feeling so confused, because Nathan seemed like he knew something, but I hadn’t seen you in so long, and then… Thats where the memory just… _splits_.”

“Christ, Max,” Chloe sighed, and she stood, pulling Max up with her as she looked back to Blackwell. “Its been a rough few hours, huh?”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well what happened with Nathan then? When you chose him?” Chloe asked, and Max could tell that she had tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but it hadn’t worked.

“Just. Things,” she said, and Chloe gave her an annoyed look. “I mean. I don’t know if he’d appreciate me telling people that-”

“What do you _mean_ Max? The asshole killed me!”

“I know, Chlo, but, its not that simple… Chloe, he-”

“On second thought, I don’t give a rats-ass about what happened between you and meds-boy,” Chloe snapped, and she crossed her arms in front of herself, looking off to the side and away from Max as she pouted.

“Do you have to be such a _child_? I _don't_ want to argue with you,” Max groaned, and she put a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, but the girl jerked her arm back, making Max’s hand fall away.

“Prescott’s an evil dick Max, don’t mess with that guy.”

“I know, Chloe, really! But I couldn’t control it! Some part of me had to know what he was going to say, and if you’d just _listen_ for a second I’d be able to tell you about it.”

“I don’t know, Max. Thats just… fucked up,” Chloe sighed. "But... I believe you. Okay?"

“I know… I know,” Max sighed, and really, she did understand why Chloe was mad. She knew Nathan in ways Max surely didn’t, but what could he have done that was so wrong? She knew that he was… psychic. Still the world felt odd in her head, like it didn’t belong, like it shouldn’t exist. But maybe that was how Nathan felt, like he shouldn’t have existed because of the things he had seen. There must have been motives behind every move he made if he already knew that certain things were going to happen. for the moment, Max made a small promise to herself. She promised to talk more to Nathan, but whatever she was told, she would have to censor it when relaying it to Chloe. The girl was her best friend after all, but now… She felt like so much more, but in a messed up way, so did Nathan...

“Uuuuugh,” Max groaned, and she put a hand on her forehead as she felt a headache coming on.

“Tell me about it,” Chloe sighed, and Max looked to her as she opened her mouth, ready to say more, but just then she noticed a boy walking toward them.

“Joshua?” Max murmured, and Chloe turned, looking toward the boy from Max’s photography class. Suddenly Max saw Chloe’s face light up, and she turned fully to face the tall, tan-skinned boy, waving him down as he smiled back and put his hands in his pockets. He wore a light vest, perfect for the autumn weather, and a black beanie. He must have had some sort of stylish hat in every colour, because Max could have sworn that the last time she saw him only hours before in Mr. Jeffersons class that his hat was maroon. 

“Eh eh whats good!” he called out, and Chloe smirked at him as Max came to stand beside her, awkwardly cradling her arms in front of herself as she thought over how to introduce herself.

 _Alright, this won't be too bad Max. Just, be yourself? On second thought... Maybe not... I don't think thats ever worked._ Max thought, but for some reason, the truth made her smile a bit. 

“You’re so damn Canadian!” Chloe barked back, and Josh let out a loud, confident laugh. With a few more well balanced strides, he was in front of Max and Chloe, and as he pulled Chloe into a dramatic hug, Max began to shy away as she took a small step backward.

“Hey Max,” Chloe said as Josh released her. “This is Josh, goes to Blackwell, _hella_ cool. Thats all you need to know, really.” And she gave Max a thumbs up, smiling as if to say  _'don't nerd out on me, trust me, he's a nice guy.'_

“Oh yeah... I know Max, we go _way_ back,” Josh said, scratching at his chin as he gave Max a quick once over. “Diane Arbus girl, right?”

“Right, yeah,” Max murmured, her voice small as she tried to focus on maintaining eye contact. “Guess I, um. Just lucked out with that answer.”

“I don’t think so,” Josh said, and his smile was something from another planet, the way it made Max feel welcome and secure in their conversation. “I think you're a devoted photographer,” he continued. “Anyone who chooses analogue over digital has _got_ to know their stuff.”

“Really? Thanks,” Max said, her tone soft as she instinctively patted the satchel she always had hanging at her side. “Do you… Shoot film, too?”

“ _Hell_ yeah,” Josh said, calmer now as he settled into a relaxed position, crossing his arms in front of himself as Chloe did the same beside him. “My dads a nut when it comes to cameras. He has a crazy collection. My first camera was an Olympus OM 10 from the 80’s.”

“Oh no way!” Max exclaimed, surprising both herself and Chloe as she found her voice. “Canon and Nikon were cool, but, I guess that was too _mainstream,_ huh.”

“Aaaand we’re friends. Bam, just like that,” Josh said, nodding his head in approval at Max’s small form of hipster sarcasm, and she could practically feel herself easing into the idea of becoming close with Josh just as Chloe must have. She liked him already, thank God he wasn’t what she expected him to be. She remembered when she first saw him and heard that he came from money, she thought Victoria would get to him, but instead he gravitated to the exact opposite, and that was when Max looked to Chloe. The girl was smiling back at her, and suddenly she looked over to Josh and then back to her again a little too quickly. She then began to fan herself subtly, and Max knew what she was implying.

“Shut it, Chloe” Max laughed, and Josh gave both girls a confused look.

“What?” Josh asked, and Max shook her head, but of course she knew that Chloe wouldn’t let her off the hook that easily.

“Max totally has the hots for you,” she grinned, and Max rolled her eyes.  _Even after our kiss Chloe? Come on, now..._

“You _know_ thats not true,” she sighed in Chloe’s direction, but Josh was all smiles.

“Well I am stunning after all,” he chuckled, and Max shook her head again as she smiled softly.

“I just admire someone with good camera taste.”

“Righteous,” Josh said, and in a flash he pulled his phone out, texting something to someone with inspiring accuracy and speed before getting a serious look on his face and shoving it back into his vest pocket.

“I’ve got to go,” he said, suddenly quite serious, causing both Max and Chloe to tense up.

“Whats up?” Chloe asked, and Josh shook his head.

“Chris,” he murmured. “He says somethings happened, but not to worry about him. So of _course_ , I’m shitting bricks.”

“Oh damn,” Chloe sighed. “What do you thinks up with him?”

“Not too sure anymore, he’s had a rough day,” Josh said, the tone of his voice seeming to end the conversation, but then something clicked in Max’s head. As if someone had literally flicked a switch in her brain, giving her the subtle sense that she should go with Josh. _But why?_ she thought. _Why would I feel like he knows something… The last time I felt like this was when Nathan…_

She pushed that thought away. Nathan had already caused enough trouble, so instead, she brought her attention back to Josh just as Chloe found her place beside Max again. But how could she force herself to forget all she remembered? It still bothered her. The split in her memory. How she managed to remember going to the same place but with two different people at the same time, almost as if she had lived through two alternate timelines that somehow crashed back into each other. She was losing her mind thinking over the possibilities, and in that moment, she wished she wasn't the only one burdened with rewind powers... She just wanted someone to talk to. Someone who'd understand how it felt to hold time in her hands... How it felt to-

“Well,” Josh began, and Max was brought back to the present. “Nice to meet you, Max. Officially, I mean.” And Josh smiled gently at her, but didn’t allow his teeth to show. He extended his arm out toward her, his right hand held out, thumb toward the sky, and Max smiled sheepishly as she took his hand.

“Likewise,” she said, disappointed with herself for once again sounding weak for the hundredth time that day. And in a blur of motion Josh released her hand, gave Chloe a polite smile, and turned around.

“H-hold on!” Max called, and Josh stopped walking away, turning to face Max as he stitched his eyebrows together.

“Just, um… I’m sorry. But, out of curiosity,” Max began, an odd sort of _something_ beginning to bubble in her stomach, making her wildly uncomfortable. “What does… Chris… Look like?”

“Think stereotypical blond white boy,” Josh said, and Chloe laughed as she nudged Max’s shoulder with her own, almost as if she were trying to get Max to drop the subject.

“Green eyes?” Max asked, not smiling as Josh or Chloe were, making them both give her a slightly confused look.

“Yeah,” Josh smiled. “Lucky guess, huh?”

“Don’t tell me he wears glasses.”

“Yo, he does,” Josh said, suddenly a little surprised as he tilted his head to one side.

Max didn’t know what else to say. There was _no way_ a hunch could have lead her to a boy that personally knew the guy from her dream. But where did the thought come from? The feeling that lead her to ask Josh the questions about Chris, it was such a sudden wave of anticipation, spiced up with déjà vu like she had never felt before. But she knew now, that without a doubt, something was pushing her toward the boy from her dream. Toward… Chris, if he was the same student she bumped into in the hallway as she ran to save Chloe from Nathan.

“I have to come with you,” she said, her tone more demanding than questioning as to whether or not it was okay, and instantly Chloe had a hand on her shoulder.

“Max, does this have to do with… The, uh-” she paused as she looked over at Josh. “- stuff with the thing?”

“Yes, Chloe,” Max nearly whispered, taking her eyes off Josh just long enough to show Chloe that she was serious by looking her in the eyes. “This has _everything_ to do with that.”

“Then I’m coming with you, too,” Chloe said, and Max couldn’t help but feel a small bit of pride in Chloe. Thank god she had her, someone to depend on as the world erupted with mystery around her. Thank God for Chloe Price.

“Well alright then,” Josh said, and for a second Max could have sworn she saw Josh give her a questioning look. One that didn't ask what her motives were, but rather, something more troublesome. He looked, for a moment, as if he knew her in a way that he didn't understand, and it only made her even more nervous. “-But, Chris has been going through some weird stuff too, and… I get the eery feeling that you already know something about that, Max.”

“I think I do,” she said, and now it was Chloe’s turn to look confused.

“But who the hell is Chris to you?” she asked Max, and in the moment, Max was sure she could have come up with a flurry of possible responses, but for some reason her brain froze up, and all she could muster were four cryptic words.

“I have _no_ idea.”


	12. Conspiracy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day another update, amen. Enjoy! And next update is going to be a Chris and Josh chapter, as they both deserve some alone time after the weirdness I put them through lol. Until next time! And God bless everyone who's commented and given me kudos on this fic, you're all blessing haha!

**Chris - Blackwell/Joshs Dorm: 3:13PM**

**Hours Till Dawn: 88**

Chris lay on Josh’s bed as if it were made of spiders, twisting and turning every few moments as he couldn’t get comfortable. Something was happening. Something big, and he could feel the stir of the universe in his mind as if a blackhole were about to open up in his brain. He knew he was being dramatic, but God, it felt good to just get all his crazy out when no one was looking. And what better place to let all your crazy out than your suddenly mysterious boyfriends dorm room at the mysterious arts school of a mysterious town called Arcadia Bay? There _was_ no better place, and on top of that, Chris loved the smell of the room in the least creepy way possible. The whole room was just so… _Josh_.

Sitting up abruptly he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, pacing the room from the front door to the desk across from it and back again, feeling both anxiety and excitement all at once. The shock of seeing Josh die was fading with each passing moment, replaced by the realization that he had _saved_ him. He really did feel like a superhero, like he could do anything and help anyone he wanted.

“Fuck yeah,” he said, and he stopped pacing long enough to look in the only mirror Josh had in his dorm room. It was a long strip of glass that just aloud him to see his full body, and it stretched from a high point on the wall next to the desk down to the floor. He watched his reflection, green eyes looking so alive for the first time since he left his and Josh’s hometown, and nodded at himself.

“Fuck… _Yeah!_ ” he nearly yelled, and he couldn’t help himself. He flexed in the mirror, nearly laughing, wishing that he got really buff and muscular at the same time that he got time travel powers, but, _meh_ , beggars can’t be choosers. “No more time for nerdy Chris,” he continued, speaking to himself as he stopped flexing and gave himself a serious look. “No more time for Clumsy Chris.” He remembered that nickname well, the first time his friend Mike had called him that during the class where they had to climb ropes and stuff. “Now its time for… Well… I’ll come up with a superhero name later.”

And just then the door to Josh’s room opened, and Chris turned his head to the side as he watched Josh walk into the room, a serious look on his face making Chris’s smile falter. And then came two others, both girls, one with blue hair cut short to frame her face, and the other…

“Oh shit.”

* * *

**Max - Blackwell/Joshs Dorm: 3:15PM**

**Hours Till Dawn: 88**

There he was. This was… painfully real, and Max felt like at any moment she may collapse to the ground and just seize up entirely.

“Chris,” she breathed, and she stepped out from behind Chloe. The second she saw Chris, _all_ of him, free of cuts and bruises from the cruelty of natures possible will, she froze. The boy from her dream stood in front of her now, truly there in the flesh, and she knew without a doubt that he knew her from the dream they had shared.

“How do you know me?” he asked. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an eighteen-wheeler. He stood, frozen, as if a single movement might shatter his perception of her and the world would break around him. Max somehow understood his feelings, almost as if he told her without having to speak. It all felt… strange.

“I don’t know you, well…” she began, but what more could she say? As more silent moments passed, both Chris and Max seemed to forget that Josh and Chloe were standing in the room with them. “Did you ever dream of-” Max went to continue, but Chris interrupted. 

“-A hurricane?” he finished, and Max nodded her head before continuing.

“Everything has been… _Pointing_ me... to you today, Chris. I mean, I think,” she stuttered, and Chris nodded his head as if to say that he’d been feeling the same universal vibes, and his shoulders slumped as he started to relax. The entire time they didn’t look away from each other, keeping their eyes focused on every move the other made as if seeing the ghost of a dead relative for the first time since their death. It was like looking at someone they once knew, but had forgotten about until this very moment.

“Well…” Josh began with a sigh. “I’m just gonna say it. What the ever living _fuck_ is happening between you two right now.”

“I don’t know,” both Max and Chris said, their synchrony something one commonly witnessed in horror movies, and they both gave each other a confused look. Josh shuffled awkwardly out of the way of their staring contest as he found himself sitting on his bed, and Max watched with her peripheral as Chloe followed suit, sitting next to him and keeping her eyes on Max.

“Maybe,” Josh started. “Me and Chloe should let you two, uh… Shit, I mean. Maybe you two should catch up or something?”

“Catch up with what?” Chloe asked, and Max turned to her, taking her eyes off Chris for the first time since she saw him, and ominously she realized that she could literally _feel_ his presence in the room greater than anyone else's.

“Alright,” Josh breathed, sighing as he stretched his arms out above his head. “Heres the low down. So Chris here had a dream in class this morning that he was in the middle of a storm, and guess who shows up in his dream?”

“Max,” Chloe gasped, and she looked from Max to Chris and back again as she fully realized just how screwed up everything was.

“ _And_ ,” Josh continued. “Well, you seem tight with Max… I’m sure you know about the time stuff.”

Max’s gaze fell on Josh after he finished speaking, a confused sensation making her stomach twist with anxiety as she looked him over.

“How’d you know?” she asked, and Josh shrugged.

“Chris has dream of girl. Chris gets time powers. Chris runs into girl in real life. Chris saves _my_ life with time magic... I don’t know… You’ve just got a timey vibe going on, you know? Its like you and Chris have some weird sort of… Tether between you or something. I can feel it.”

“… _What?_ ” Max breathed, but Josh was giving her a small grin, and though she wanted to feel annoyed, she couldn’t help but smile back softly as she shook her head.

“So you can, then?” Chris asked, and Max looked back to him, his once serious expression now a warm looking mask of barely contained wonder. He looked like a kid on christmas morning, but the kind that had to wait for his siblings to wake up before he could open presents. All in all, Chris looked sort of cute with that dumb awe-struck look on his face. It suited him.

“I can what?” Max asked. Chris shrugged, and in response he lifted his left hand and held it out in front of himself, his palm facing toward her and his fingers spread apart. Instantly Max understood what he was talking about.

“Oh, wow… Yes,” she said finally. “I can.” And she raised her right hand, reaching up and toward him, and suddenly they both gasped, remembering that they’d already seen each other do this once before.

“When I first rewound to save Josh,” Chris began, but Max interrupted.

“The first time I rewound to save Chloe,” she gasped.

“I knew it!” he exclaimed, and he gave Josh an excited look. “We rewound time at the same time as the other! Thats why we didn’t notice the other before!”

“Wait, you felt me rewind time once? When? How come I’ve never felt you do it?” Max asked, and Chris gave her an understanding look.

“Well shit,” Chris began, and he smiled, but it didn’t look right. He looked worried now instead of oddly optimistic. “I have some theories,” he continued, and without hesitation, Max walked her way over to the leather couch in Josh’s dorm and nearly collapsed onto it as she let out a deep rooted sigh. Chris, on the other hand, just sat on the floor.

* * *

What started off as an awkward conversation quickly grew into a heated exchange. Chris was animated, while Max was more reserved, only speaking when asked a direct question, and Chris felt as though she were holding back things that she ought to say out loud. But he didn’t pry. He didn’t _dare_ pry.

They talked about the timing of their first rewind, and how Chris dove across the road and tackled Josh out of the way at the same time that Max hit the fire alarm, giving Chloe the chance to escape. They talked about the hurricane dream, and Chloe pointed out how odd it was that her and Max would end up at the scene of the natural disaster just as it started to snow.

“Everything’s happening for a reason,” Josh would say whenever something came up that didn't seem to have an explanation, and the group would nod. That was Josh’s go to option, his default saying as of late, and Chris tilted his head at him every time he said it. It must have been the only way he could cope with what was happening. The only way he could listen in and experience what Max and Chris were talking about without slipping into some sort of dissociative state.

At this thought, Chris shook his head and focused back on Max as she explained the split in her memories in regards to the last few hours. Now _that_ was some ‘wild shit’ as Josh put it, and Chris couldn’t have agreed more, but when Max asked them what they thought had happened over the last few hours, something strange happened.

“I hung out with Chloe,” Josh said, and Chris raised his eyebrows.

“No,” he said, almost accusatory as he sat up straighter. “You were with me, we were like… making out, dude.”

“What?”

“I think I’d remember spending the last hour alone, Josh,” Chris said, but then a cold shiver ran up his spine, but he tried his best to ignore it.

“Oh… Shit…” Josh breathed, and all eyes went to him. “I do remember staying with you… But… I remember going out for a walk and running into Chloe, but… I also remember going out for a smoke alone and having you text me saying something serious happened.”

“Okay thats it,” Chris said, and he cleared his throat as he stood up. “I remember texting you that, but that was… half an hour ago.”

“No, that was like ten minutes ago Chris.”

“And here we go again,” Chloe sighed in annoyance, and it was clear now that they all had different memories when they thought over the events of the day. Chloe admitted that she remembered her walk with Josh, but also spending time with Max. The web of confusion just kept getting thicker and thicker. _Yikes._

The group looked around at each other, realizing that, possibly because of Max, they would have to map out their memories of the past few hours, and the girl looked a little ashamed of herself, even though it wasn’t something she had control over. Of course, piecing together the shattered fragments of hours worth of memories was easier said than done, and after a few minutes of deliberation, Chloe gave up, nudging Josh as she asked if he wanted to go out for a smoke, but the boy decided against it as he gave Chris a concerned look.

“Alright, I can’t be the only one getting the willies at whats going on right now,” Chloe grimaced, looking to Max as she raised her eyebrows, but the girl only shrugged in response.

“Feeling _what_?” Josh asked, and Chloe shook her head, blue hair swaying dramatically on either side of her head.

“Like this is some sort of universal _conspiracy_ ,” she finished, and Chris took a deep breathe in.

“I’d say thats about right,” he added, and the group turned back to him, only to find that his eyes were once again fixed on Max, wide with expectation in a mystical sort of way that only Max seemed to truly understand. They really were, for some inexplicable reason, tethered together like Josh said. But why? And then something came to Chris, an idea, pushed into his head by some other force that he didn’t quite understand yet, but it told him to try something absolutely bonkers.

 _Can you hear me?_ he asked, not aloud, but in his mind. Max didn't move, only staring back at him as she tried to figure out why he looked like he was concentrating so hard. He cleared his throat and tried again, this time flexing his left hand making time slow ever so slightly.

 **Can- Can you hear me?** he asked, and this time his voice was much louder, almost as if he had said it out loud, and Max visibly jumped backward on the couch.

“Whoa!” she gasped, and instantly Chloe was up and at her side, putting an arm around the girls shoulder before she could fall off the couch.

“What!” Chloe asked. “What is it, Max?”

“Do that again,” Max asked, looking to Chris before giving her  a nod as to say that she was alright, and without missing a beat Chloe had a hand over one of Max’s on her lap. Chris took note of that, but didn’t think to question it. They must have been close, he would have to ask Josh or Max about that later.

At this point, Josh was standing and had made his way over to Chris, keeping his hands to himself as if by touching him he may ruin whatever it was that was happening inside Chris' head. Before trying to speak to Max again, Chris gave Josh a small nod, as Max did to Chloe, and Josh understood that everything was fine. Or, at least as fine as it could be when someone discovered they had a telepathic connection with a complete stranger, but Josh didn’t need to know about that just yet.

He looked back to Max, slowing down time in the smallest of ways, and he asked again.

 **Max,** he said, and Max put her hands over her ears, making Chloe jump as she gave her best friend another concerned look.

“One more time,” Max said aloud, and Chris could suddenly feel time slowing even more without his doing. It was Max, it had to be.

 **Max, can you hear me?** Chris asked mentally, and the girl, in a moment of stunned silence, responded without actually speaking.

_Yes. But can you hear me?_

“Holy shit,” Chris breathed, and he turned to Josh as he ran a hand through his hair. “I can hear her, Josh, I can talk to her in my fucking head.” He then turned to Max, obviously confused as to wether or not to feel excited or horrified. “Max!” he yelled, choosing a mixture of both emotions. “Max I can hear you!”

“This is _too_ wild,” Max groaned, and with one hand she squeezed Chloe’s thigh before standing and joining Chris on the floor. She sat across from him, crossing her legs in front of herself while Chris moved and hugged his knees into his chest, resting his chin on one of his knees. Josh scooted backward subtly, obviously giving them space, and though Max wanted to show her appreciation, she couldn’t take her eyes off Chris. The two just… sat there, looking at each other, studying the others eyes.

“Its like-” Chris began.

“I already know you,” Max finished, and in time with the other, they sighed.

Chloe frowned as she looked down at the two of them before walking over to Josh and ruffling his hair with her hand.

“ _What the hell is happening?_ ” she murmured, directing her question at Josh, but instead of only Josh looking up, both Max and Chris did as well.

“Thats a good question,” the two said, and both Josh and Chloe raised their eyebrows at them. They had spoken in perfect synchrony, _again_ , and while Chloe got a freaked out look on her face, Josh gained an impressed one.

“Righteous,” he said, and the group couldn’t help but chuckle as Josh once again used his favourite term.

“Righteous,” Chris and Max said, once again speaking in perfect sync with each other, and Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Alright, enough of that,” she sighed, and she sat down, crossing her legs as Max had as she found space beside Josh, and for the first time in a long time, Chris felt that he belonged to something more, and he remembered when Chloe had used the word _conspiracy_ to describe their situation.

 _She’s right,_ he thought, not reaching out to Max as he contemplated their predicament. _This entire time travel thing. Me and Max sharing this… Connection. It has to mean something. Its all just some sort of… Supernatural conspiracy._


End file.
